Jens Stoltenberg: Authoritarian powers undermine global rules to increase power and influence

Authoritarian powers openly undermine global rules to increase power and influence, North Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday at the start of the anniversary edition of the Bucharest Forum 2021, event organised by the Aspen Institute Romania together with the Bucharest office of the German Marshall Fund of the US, agerpres reports.

Today, authoritarian powers are openly undermining global rules in order to increase their power and influence. They are trying to provoke our democracies in many areas: economic, technological, political and military. Russia is increasingly aggressive. It interferes in the affairs of other states. Russia is continuing its military consolidation, as we now see near the borders of Ukraine, as well as assertive behavior in the strategically important Black Sea region, said Jens Stoltenberg.

According to him, on the other hand, China is investing heavily in new technologies and expanding its global economic and military footprint, including in cyberspace.

He also drew attention on other global threats, such as increasingly frequent and sophisticated cyber attacks, the persistent terrorist threat, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the impact of climate change.

We have to deal with this new reality. And the best way is to do it together: Europe and North America, together, in NATO. That's why NATO leaders took decisions at the June summit in Brussels. intended to strengthen transatlantic unity, he said.

Stoltenberg noted that the NATO 2030 agenda aims to ensure security in a more unpredictable world and to invest in the latest technologies, from artificial intelligence to biotechnology and quantum computers.

According to him, another decision taken at the Brussels summit was to ensure a more secure infrastructure and supply chains.

As for NATO's new strategic concept, Jens Stoltenberg said it would allow for a reflection on how the world has changed in the last decade, but also a reaffirmation of the importance of transatlantic security and defense relations.

At the Madrid Summit in 2022, allied leaders will support this new concept. (...) I rely on Romania, as a determined and committed ally, to continue to contribute to this process. Your voice matters. In preparing the Madrid Summit, we will continue to work together to keep NATO strong, Stoltenberg said.