British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held separate talks Tuesday with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in the Turkish capital Ankara on joint defense procurement, defense spending, support for Ukraine and maritime security.
Starmer met with both leaders at the British Residence on the sidelines of the NATO summit, according to statements released by the UK Prime Minister's Office.=
During his meeting with Jetten, the leaders welcomed a new UK-Netherlands maritime partnership, saying it "would strengthen NATO and support UK shipbuilding."
Starmer also thanked the Netherlands for its contribution to the multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The two leaders underscored the need for innovative ways to finance major defense projects and discussed the Multilateral Defense Mechanism, a joint defense financing initiative, saying joint procurement could aggregate demand, standardize equipment purchases and reduce costs.
In a separate meeting with Store, the leaders welcomed what they described as the "strong unity" among NATO allies and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine, discussing how allies could continue providing Kyiv with the means to push back Russian forces.
They also exchanged views on efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz and agreed on the importance of joint procurement to ensure value for money in major defense projects.