For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 1, 2002

Statement by the Press Secretary
Visit by NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson

President Bush will welcome NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson for a meeting and dinner on April 9, 2002. This visit is an opportunity for the President to discuss with the leader of NATO our progress in the war on terrorism, and our preparations for the November NATO Summit Meeting in Prague. This marks the fourth time the President has met with Lord Robertson in just over one year.

For the first time in history, the Allies invoked NATO's collective defense commitment in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Since then, NATO Allies and many Partnership for Peace nations have contributed their military forces to Operation Enduring Freedom and offered blanket use of their airspace, ports and airfields. This cooperation underscores the trans-Atlantic commitment to shared values and collective defense that NATO has embodied for over fifty years.

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