NATO Leaders Summit on 8 July in Ankara: Here is the Detailed Program

Türkiye has shared the official and detailed program of the 36. NATO Summit, which will be held in Ankara between 6-8 July, with the public. This major international diplomacy event, spanning three days, will culminate with the North Atlantic Council session on Wednesday, 8 July, attended by the heads of state and government of the alliance's member states. Assuming the hosting role, Türkiye has prepared a comprehensive organization to address important issues on the alliance's agenda throughout the summit. This major gathering will serve as a critical platform where global security dynamics and defense cooperations will be discussed. The announcement of the program is being closely followed by media organizations and diplomatic representatives of the member countries.

The first day of the summit, Monday 6 July, will begin with preparatory activities rather than official contacts. The most important event of the day will be the press conference by NATO Genel Sekreteri Mark Rutte, which will take place at 16:45 at the Presidential Complex International Press Center. This press conference will aim to directly convey information to media members and the public about the general framework, expectations, and agenda items of the first day of the summit. Participating delegations are also expected to arrive in the city on the same day and complete their bilateral preparatory meetings. Thus, the intense diplomatic traffic, which will lay the groundwork for the high-level meetings to be held in the rest of the week, will officially begin.

The second day of the events, Tuesday 7 July, is shaped to focus on the alliance's defense cooperations and industrial partnerships. At 10:00 in the morning, high-level announcements are planned to be made within the scope of the NATO Defense Industry Forum, and member states and sector representatives are attending this forum intensely. Later in the day, at 12:45, NATO Genel Sekreteri Mark Rutte will deliver the forum's opening speech together with the Türkiye Cumhurbaşkanı Yardımcısı and Milli Savunma Bakanı. Afterwards, at 14:00, the joint press conference of the NATO Genel Sekreteri and the Ukrayna Cumhurbaşkanı stands out as one of the most striking diplomatic moments of the day. These events will showcase concrete steps towards enhancing defense capacities in the Euro-Atlantic security architecture.

The afternoon and evening program of Tuesday has a highly intense series of diplomatic contacts and official receptions. At 17:00, NATO Foreign Ministers will meet with their counterparts from Bahreyn, Kuveyt, Katar, and Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri within the scope of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (İİG). Immediately after, at 17:30, a reception will be hosted by Türkiye at the "Hilal ve Yıldız" campus, attended by the defense ministers of Avustralya, Japonya, Yeni Zelanda, and Güney Kore. In the evening, a reception and official dinner will be hosted in honor of Türkiye Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife Emine Erdoğan for the heads of state and government and their spouses. At this dinner, high-level guests from different parts of the world will be hosted, including the Ukrayna Cumhurbaşkanı, Güney Kore Cumhurbaşkanı, Avrupa Konseyi Başkanı, and Avrupa Komisyonu Başkanı.

The climax of the 36. NATO Leaders Summit, which will last for three days, will be the heads of state and government session to be held on Wednesday, 8 July. At 10:45 in the morning, Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan and NATO Genel Sekreteri Rutte will officially welcome the leaders of the allied countries. Following the traditional family photo shoot at 11:00, the North Atlantic Council Leaders Summit sessions will begin at 11:15. During these critical sessions, leaders will thoroughly discuss global security threats, defense investments within the alliance, and joint policies towards international crises. After all official contacts, this year's major summit will officially conclude with the press conference by NATO Genel Sekreteri Mark Rutte at 15:00.