ANKARA: NATO leaders will meet in Türkiye on July 7–8 for the NATO Ankara summit, with defence spending, Ukraine aid and regional security topping the agenda.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will chair the 36th summit at the Beştepe Presidential Compound.
The meeting will bring leaders from all 32 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members to the Turkish capital, including US President Donald Trump.
Leaders will review progress on the 5% defence-investment plan agreed at the 2025 summit in The Hague.
They are also expected to discuss a €70 billion military-aid package for Ukraine in 2026 and continued support through 2027.
The NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum will run on July 7 and focus on joint procurement, production capacity and defence supply chains.
The draft summit track also includes reaffirmation of Article 5 collective defence and a call for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Read: Trump Accuses NATO Allies of Failing the US Over Iran
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used his Istanbul meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to place Türkiye and Pakistan inside the U.S.-Iran track, Reuters reported.
Erdoğan said lasting Middle East peace required regional backing and argued that Israel must not disrupt a possible U.S.-Iran deal mediated by Pakistan.
Türkiye and Pakistan discussed cooperation in energy, transport, critical minerals, information technologies and defence. The two sides also kept their bilateral trade target at $5 billion.
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Türkiye has deployed more than 56,200 security personnel across Ankara for the summit.
Indo-Pacific partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea will also attend, linking Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security agendas.
NATO leaders will meet in Ankara on July 7–8 to discuss defence spending, Ukraine aid, alliance production capacity, Hormuz security and regional diplomacy.
