Foreign ministers of NATO member-states convened in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss strategic matters, including the alliance's relations with Russia, arms control and the implications of China's military strengthening.

This is the last meeting at the ministerial level before a summit set for early December in London.

The participants in the Brussels meeting are expected to discus the progress of member-states in reaching the defence allocation target of two percent of a member’s GDP.

Croatia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman recalls that in June 2018, the government decided on a gradual increase in spending for defence until 2024, when that target should be reached. Also, a fifth of the defence allocation will be used for equipment and modernisation, he said in Brussels.

Ahead of the Brussels meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that despite differences among Allies, NATO has grown stronger over the last seventy years and continues to provide security for almost 1 billion people.

Space as NATO’s operational domain

The foreign ministers are expected to recognise space as an operational domain, alongside air, land, sea and cyberspace.

“Space is essential to the Alliance’s defence and deterrence, for early warning, communication and navigation,” said the Secretary General. He noted that NATO’s approach to space will remain defensive and fully in line with international law. NATO has no intention to put weapons in space.