▲ President Lee Jae Myung (2nd from L), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte (3rd from L) and senior officials from Japan, Australia and New Zealand pose for a photo during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7, 2026, on the sidelines of a NATO summit. (Yonhap)

president-NATO partners

Lee attends meeting of NATO's 4 Indo-Pacific partners in Ankara

ANKARA, July 7 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday attended a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s four official Asia-Pacific partners in Ankara, Turkey, to discuss security cooperation.

The meeting brought together Lee, senior officials from Japan, Australia and New Zealand and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for NATO's Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) gathering on the sidelines of this year's NATO summit.

The IP4 is a grouping of NATO's four Indo-Pacific partners that seeks to strengthen cooperation with the alliance and promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Lee was accompanied by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back. Japan was represented by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.

Australia was represented by Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy, while New Zealand sent Defense Minister Chris Penk.

The participants were expected to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation aimed at promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

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