The North Atlantic Council (NAC), led by the Secretary General, paid a visit to Washington, where the Ambassadors of the 26 NATO countries met with high ranking officials of the U.S. Administration.

The NAC met with National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Discussions focused on current operations, in particular Afghanistan and Kosovo, and on preparations for the upcoming Bucharest Summit. The Ambassadors and US officials extensively discussed the NATO led mission in Afghanistan. In this context, Secretaries Gates and Rice highlighted progress to date and stressed the need for a long-term commitment by the Alliance and the international community to Afghanistan. 

They also reviewed the state of play of other political-military issues on NATO’s agenda, such as prospects for enlargement and the Alliance’s added value in the fields of cyber defence and energy security.  Cooperation with Russia and ongoing consultations on missile defence were also subjects of discussion.