NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the alliance's Indo-Pacific partners held a joint meeting Tuesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Australian Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy and New Zealand Defense Minister Chris Penk attended NATO's Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) meeting, according to a statement from Japan's Foreign Ministry.
The participants discussed international issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war, China, the Indo-Pacific, responses to North Korea and the situation in Iran, the statement said.
They also agreed to strengthen cooperation between NATO and the IP4 in areas including defense industry collaboration, cybersecurity and advanced technologies.
Rutte expressed the alliance's intention to strengthen its partnership with the IP4 to better address challenges facing the international community, the statement said.
Motegi said the security of Europe, the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific is "inseparable." He added that strong ties between NATO and the IP4 contribute to global peace and stability, and expressed hope for further expanding cooperation with NATO and deepening their strategic partnership.
Lee emphasized the complex and rapidly changing global security environment, saying no single country can address the challenges alone, according to a post by the South Korean president on the US social media company X.
"Our security will become even more robust, and peace and stability around the world will be further strengthened," he said. South Korea will work closely with "like-minded countries and do our utmost," he added.
"South Korea will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a responsible member of the international community. To ensure the safe daily lives of our citizens and the peace of the world, we will join hands with like-minded countries and do our utmost."
The summit in Ankara is bringing together leaders of the 32-member alliance, as well as key partners, to discuss Europe's defense capacity, NATO's defense spending targets, military modernization and continued support for Ukraine.
Although they are not NATO members, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Japan have been invited to the alliance's annual summits as guests since 2022.
The Ankara meeting marks the second NATO summit hosted by Türkiye, following the 2004 Istanbul summit. The gathering also provides a platform for bilateral meetings between Türkiye and allied countries on political, security and economic cooperation.
