Including its mission in Iraq, NATO military committee to discuss strategic topics in a key meeting on Jan. 18-19

Shafaq News/ The NATO Military Committee is slated to convene a key meeting on Jan. 18 and 19, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The meeting of the Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session (MCCS) will enable the 32 Chiefs of Defence to discuss issues of strategic importance to the Alliance, including its mission in Iraq.

It will be attended by the Allied Chiefs of Defence and their counterparts from Invitees Finland and Sweden, which launched the process of joining the Alliance in 2022.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will join the Military Committee for the first session on Jan. 18 to provide the latest political objectives and to discuss security challenges facing the Alliance.

The Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Gen. Philippe Lavigne, will lead the second session of the day, on Jan. 19. It will focus on early observations from the ongoing war in Ukraine and NATO’s military capacity and capability to defend the Alliance against all challenges, now and in the future.

According to the press service, the first session of the second day will see the Chiefs of Defence meet with their Kosovo Force (KFOR) operational partners – Armenia, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Moldova, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine. The discussions will concentrate on the situation on the ground, the security environment, and KFOR’s mission, as well as discussing NATO’s non-combat advisory and capacity-building mission in Iraq, NATO Mission Iraq (NMI).

The final session will see the Military Committee discuss NATO’s ongoing support to Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Dec. 30 that the supply of weapons to Ukraine is the fastest way to peace.