NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (Source:  AFP/VNA)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that he expects a boost of more than 1,200 personnel to be agreed during the ministerial meetings. Defense ministers will witness the signing of establishment of two commands to help protect trans-Atlantic sea lines, and support logistics and military mobility within Europe. The new joint force command for the Atlantic is expected to be based in the United States, and the new enabling command will be based in Germany. 

Stoltenberg says allies have stopped cuts in defense spending and started to increase burden-sharing. He hailed German plans to increase defence spending by 80 percent by 2024, emphasizing it as a step in the right direction.