• NATO will be more effective by investing in modern capabilities to meet modern needs and more actively and deeply engaged with the wider world.

Last week, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen addressed Young Leaders at the 2010 Young Atlanticist Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, which was run concurrently with the NATO Summit. In his keynote address, the Secretary General stressed the complex security challenges of the 21st century, including weak states, terrorism, missile proliferation and cyber attacks.

“These are all transnational problems and they require multinational solutions,” the Secretary General said. In response, “NATO will be more effective by investing in modern capabilities to meet modern needs and more actively and deeply engaged with the wider world.”

A group of 70 young leaders who had been selected from across Allied and Partner nations participated in the conference. They are professionals in the early part of their careers, including parliamentarians, think tank analysts, entrepreneurs and business people, journalists, bloggers and activists. Also, joining them are 120 students from Portugal’s leading universities.

Over the course of three days, the young leaders engaged in debates on a wide range of issues NATO currently faces, including the new Strategic Concept, operations in Afghanistan, global partnerships, and emerging security threats and challenges.

The conference provided an opportunity for the participants to engage directly with the Alliance’s leadership. The Summit also aims to build a network of young leaders and encourages continued future collaboration on issues relating to NATO and transatlantic relations.