Building Stability in an Unpredictable World

This week Wales hosts the NATO Summit, the largest gathering of international leaders ever to take place in Britain.

I grew up in the east of England under the deep shadow of the Cold War. Throughout my teenage years the risk of armed conflict between the Warsaw Pact and NATO seemed very close and very real. “The Third World War – August 1985”, Sir John Hackett’s chilling account of how it might have been, left a big impression on me.

I had been in the Diplomatic Service only two years when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Even now, many years later, it is difficult without sounding melodramatic to describe to my Brazilian family and friends the overwhelming sense of relief felt by millions of young Europeans of my generation from that moment on.

Fast forward 25 years. Recent events in Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East show that not only have some old threats to Europe’s security sadly returned, but new challenges have arisen as well and are adapting all the time: from fragile states to piracy; from terrorism to cyber attacks; from border security to support for NATO’s partners.

For 65 years NATO’s collective defence has been fundamental to our national security. With the world now feeling more unpredictable than ever that is why NATO still matters for the UK, why we contribute so much to it, and why the Wales Summit is important for us.

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