Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

NATO leaders, including US President Donald Trump, will participate in the alliance's summit scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Turkey. According to a statement from NATO headquarters in Brussels, the events will begin on Tuesday with a keynote address by the NATO Secretary General at the NATO Defense Industries Forum, in the presence of the Vice President of Turkey and the Minister of National Defense. This will take place in the main hall of the conference center, followed by brief remarks from the NATO Secretary General and the President of Ukraine. Then, the foreign ministers will meet with partners of the International Defense Industries Initiative, followed by a reception for defense ministers at the Turkish Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Aydılıdız. According to the program, at 6:30 PM, a reception and dinner will be held for heads of state and government and their spouses, hosted by the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the First Lady. This will be followed by a working dinner for the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of foreign ministers, and another working dinner for the NATO Council at the level of defense ministers. The program announced by NATO headquarters stated that the foreign ministers of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the State of Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are invited to attend. The defense ministers of the Commonwealth countries of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea are also invited.

The President of the Republic of Korea, the President of Ukraine, the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have also been invited. A statement issued by the Alliance in Brussels regarding the key events of the first day of the summit reads: “The NATO Summit Defence Industries Forum (NSDIF26), NATO’s premier high-level event on transatlantic defence production, investment, and innovation, will be held on July 7, 2026, in Ankara, Turkey.

The Forum is an integral part of the NATO Summit 2026, bringing together senior NATO, Allied, and partner officials, industry leaders, and key players in driving industry and innovation to discuss the most pressing issues.

Previous sessions in The Hague and Washington have demonstrated that there can be no strong defence without a strong defence industry. This year’s Forum will focus on the progress Allies have made toward achieving NATO’s historic 5% defence investment target and how these funds can be used to increase defence production, cooperation, and joint procurement, thereby strengthening the Alliance’s industrial deterrence.

The NATO Summit Defence Industries Forum 2026 will include:
A one-day conference with six closed morning sessions and live-streamed public sessions in the afternoon.” The morning sessions will be held concurrently and are designed to foster interaction within small groups. The afternoon sessions will feature keynote addresses by NATO, Allied, and industry leaders, as well as public sessions broadcast to the public and open to the media.

For the first time, national, multinational, and sectoral agreements, deliverables, and initiatives will be announced. These will be announced throughout the day, on the sidelines of the conference program, at the NATO Defence Industry Forum. The agreements and initiatives will cover a wide range of NATO's priority capability areas, including space and surveillance; integrated air and missile defense and strike capabilities; and the need to enhance transatlantic co-production, accelerate the adoption of innovation, improve practical cooperation between NATO and industry, and provide concrete guarantees for defense investment.