Turkey has announced the full programme for the 36th NATO Summit, which will take place in Ankara from 6 to 8 July, culminating in the meeting of heads of state and government of the North Atlantic Council on Wednesday.
The summit will begin on Monday, 6 July, with a press conference by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the International Press Centre of the Presidential Complex at 4.45pm.
Defence industry focus
The second day of the summit will focus on alliance defence cooperation through a series of high-level events and meetings.
On Tuesday, 7 July, high-level announcements will be made at the NATO Defence Industry Forum, bringing together alliance members and representatives of the defence sector.
At 12.45pm, Rutte will deliver the forum's opening address alongside Turkey's vice-president and defence minister. At 2pm, the NATO secretary-general and the president of Ukraine will hold a joint press conference.
The programme also includes a series of diplomatic meetings and official events.
At 5pm, NATO foreign ministers will meet their counterparts from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as part of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.
At 5.30pm, a reception will be hosted at the Turkish Defence Ministry's Crescent and Star campus for defence ministers, attended also by the defence ministers of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
Later, at 6.30pm, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan will host a reception and official dinner in honour of heads of state and government and their spouses.
Among the guests will be the president of Ukraine, the president of South Korea, the president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission.
The evening programme also includes the NATO-Ukraine Council foreign ministers' working dinner at 7.45pm and the North Atlantic Council defence ministers' working dinner at 8.15pm.
Summit of leaders
The summit will reach its peak on Wednesday, 8 July, with the meeting of alliance leaders.
At 10.45am, Erdogan and Rutte will formally welcome heads of state and government from NATO member countries.
The traditional family photograph will be taken at 11am, followed by the opening of the North Atlantic Council summit at 11.15am.
According to the programme, the 36th NATO Summit will conclude at 3pm with a closing press conference by Rutte.
Trump to meet Zelensky and Syrian president
The White House has announced that US President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the summit.
Trump will hold bilateral meetings with both leaders in Ankara.
The US president is expected to arrive on Tuesday, with his first meeting scheduled to be with summit host Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A senior US official said Trump would meet Zelensky on Wednesday to discuss "how we can end the war."
"The battlefield has been frozen for the past two months and neither side is making major progress," the official said.
"The President feels a real sense of urgency to try to stop this."
The official added that Trump will also urge NATO allies to increase their defence spending.
Source: CNA
