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Immediate Release

Readout of Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis' Meeting with German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen

Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White provided the following readout: 

Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen today in Brussels to reaffirm the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Germany. 

The secretary thanked Minister von der Leyen for her country's commitment to implementing key successes from the NATO Summit in July. They agreed to enhancing NATO readiness, military mobility and command structure reform.

Secretary Mattis thanked Minister von der Leyen for Germany's commitment to the NATO alliance and acknowledged her ongoing efforts to increase defense spending to meet Wales pledge commitments and improve the readiness of Germany's armed forces.