NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance will “develop a roadmap for the next decade” at a summit due next month in the Spanish capital.

“We will restart our deterrence and defense for a more dangerous world,” Stoltenberg said during a ceremony in Spain marking the country’s 40th anniversary of joining NATO.

Referring to the 1997 NATO summit in Madrid, where he explained that he had begun negotiations on the membership of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic in the alliance, the Secretary General commented: “This summit opened a new era of hope and ambition. the open doors of NATO and the enlargement of the European Union have helped spread freedom, democracy and prosperity across Europe.” He continued, “It was and still is a historic success.”

He believed that “meeting in Madrid next month will be another historic summit” and believed that “China’s coercive policy challenges our interests, security and values”, adding that “China has joined Russia in open competition for the right of every countries to choose their own path.

According to Stoltenberg, NATO seeks to “deepen our cooperation with like-minded countries and organizations, including the European Union and the countries of the Indo-Pacific region.”