NATO chief hails Türkiye as defense industry model ahead of Ankara summit

NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte has held up Türkiye as a model for alliance defence industrial organisation ahead of the July leaders’ summit in Ankara. Speaking at a press conference after NATO foreign ministers met in Helsingborg, Sweden, Rutte said: “We need to produce more… Türkiye, with over 3,000 companies, is extremely important, and also a great example of how to organize a defense industrial base.”

Summit focus: spending and industrial capacity

Rutte confirmed that the Ankara summit will focus on increased defence spending and the path toward the 5% of GDP target, as well as the urgent need to ramp up defence industrial production on both sides of the Atlantic. “We know that today our industries are not able to produce everything we require,” he said, adding that allies must “produce faster and at greater scale.” He also noted that European allies and Canada are taking on greater responsibility, making “the whole alliance stronger, firmly anchored by the transatlantic bond.”

Zelenskyy to attend, Article 5 ‘ironclad’

Rutte confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the Ankara summit, having already received an invitation. He reaffirmed that allies’ commitment to Article 5 is “ironclad,” warning: “Were anyone to be foolish enough to attack us, the response would be devastating.” He added that NATO is “more aligned today than before” and that Türkiye would “put up an incredible show in Ankara.” The July summit will be the second NATO leaders’ meeting hosted by Türkiye, following Istanbul in 2004.