Czech President Petr Pavel met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at alliance headquarters this week for talks framed around next month's summit in The Hague, with Rutte calling Czechia a reliable member of the alliance.
Rutte welcomed Czechia's defense spending, already above 2 percent of GDP with a stated plan to reach 3 percent, and noted Czech forces are currently deployed in support of NATO missions in Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania. He also credited Czechia's military assistance to Ukraine — more than 1.3 billion euros to date — and a Czech-led ammunition initiative that has funneled over 3 million large-caliber rounds to Ukrainian forces.
The two also discussed NATO's future capability requirements, with Rutte arguing that meeting them will require both higher investment and deeper cooperation with the defense industry.