NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană emphasized the importance of investing in defence and innovation at the Leangkollen Security Conference held in Oslo, Norway on February 6, 2023. Speaking at the conference’s opening session titled “Ukraine Holds the Future of Democracy and Security in Europe,” Geoană said, “Technologies can make the difference between winning and losing.”

The Deputy Secretary General also thanked Norway for its strong support of NATO’s innovation initiatives, the Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) and the Defense Investment Fund. On the other hand, indicating that the importance of heavy weapons on the battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine war continues, Geoană said, “If we want to protect our security, we must balance digital warfare with kinetic warfare.” He said that the most important lesson learned from the war is the need to invest more in defence.

Hosted by the Norwegian Atlantic Committee, the Leangkollen Security Conference brings together international and Norwegian researchers and senior officials to discuss defence, foreign and security policy issues. The title of this year’s conference was “The Age of Great Power Competition – Democracy vs Autocracy in the Light of Russia’s War against Ukraine”.