Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal joined more than 160 senior defence industry representatives aboard HMS Warrior in Portsmouth as NATO nations intensified discussions on strengthening defence manufacturing capacity ahead of next month’s alliance summit.

The dinner, held on 24 June during the UK NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG) plenary, brought together delegates from 29 NATO member and partner nations to discuss the industrial challenges facing the alliance amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and growing security concerns across Europe.

The three-day plenary, which took place in Portsmouth between 23 and 25 June, was the first NIAG meeting to be hosted in the UK this century.

Discussions focused on expanding defence industrial production, increasing war-ready stockpiles and accelerating the delivery of military capabilities required by NATO’s armed forces.

The meeting comes just weeks before NATO leaders are due to gather in Ankara, where defence spending, industrial resilience and military preparedness are expected to feature prominently on the agenda.

Established in 1968, the NATO Industrial Advisory Group serves as the alliance’s principal forum for industrial advice on armaments cooperation, capability development and defence industrial policy. Operating under NATO’s Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD), the group provides a direct link between the alliance and national defence industries.

National delegations comprise senior industry leaders and officials representing each country’s defence industrial and technological base. In the UK, defence, aerospace and security trade association ADS provides the secretariat for the British delegation.

The Portsmouth gathering highlighted the growing emphasis NATO is placing on industrial capacity as governments seek to expand production, strengthen supply chain resilience and ensure manufacturers can deliver the equipment and munitions needed to support both current operations and future deterrence.

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