NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to visit Estonia

TALLINN - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will visit Estonia on Wednesday, October 14.

During the visit, he is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Kristen Michal, the president, and Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, visit Ämari Air Base, and deliver a public lecture at Tallinn University of Technology.

"NATO is working. We see this clearly in the Baltic Sea region: in the air, where our allies' aircraft respond to airspace violations; at sea, where NATO ships are deployed as part of the Baltic Sentry vigilance activity; and on land, where units from our NATO allies are serving. We are grateful to our allies for this contribution, and we are making our own contribution as well. Both this year and in the coming years, our defense spending will exceed 5 percent of GDP," said Prime Minister Kristen Michal.

At 5 p.m., the NATO Secretary General will visit Ämari Air Base, where he will be welcomed by Minister of Defense Martin Herem and Commander of the Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Andrus Merilo. There, he will observe the Steadfast Duel exercise and also meet with representatives of the Turkish Air Force.