GovWire

Good evening thank you for being here, I really appreciate it. This is of course my first week as Prime Minister

But Ive come here to Washington, three and half thousand miles from home

For a very simple reason.

Because every policy we have in pursuit of our missions

Everything were going to do to improve peoples lives

All that we hold dear

Depends on our security.

That is our first priority

It isalwaysour first priority

I made that crystal clear to the British people in our campaign

And so I also came to this summit with a clear message.

A message of enduring and unwavering commitment

To the NATO alliance.

To Ukraine.

To the collective security of our country, our continent, and our allies around the world.

Im proud to represent a party that was instrumental in creating NATO 75 years ago.

It was Labour Prime Minister, Clement Attlee

And a Labour Foreign Secretary, Ernie Bevin

Who fought so hard to make this a reality.

This is our history and were proud of it

And I am determined to take that pride forward into the future.

So have no doubt - we will match our words with action.

We live in a new and dangerous era

One defined by volatility and insecurity.

We face the generational threat of Russia

Aided by the likes of North Korea and Iran.

Conflicts - rage across the Middle East and North Africa.

The challenge of China.

Terrorism.

And international institutions, that should be at the heart of the response

Are being undermined.

Our collective reaction to this moment, will shape the world for decades to come.

So we must stand up for our interests.

But we must also stand up for our values.

Because it was that insight

That unity of interests and values

That guided Attlee and Truman in creating NATO 75 years ago.

We must mobilise what Bevin called

Our collective moral and material force.

Because our values arenota point of weakness, as Putin may think

They are the source of our strength.

NATO has become the most successful alliance in history

Preciselybecausedemocracy, freedom and the rule of law

were hardwired into the NATO Charter.

And that is the legacy we inherit today

An inheritance not just of an institution

But of a duty and of service.

And it isourduty now

To take these fundamental principles

And adapt them to meet the test of our times.

That starts in Ukraine.

Together with our allies today

We have reaffirmed our unshakeable support

For Ukraines ultimate victory.

Our determination - to deliver justice for the awful crimes that Russia has committed.

You will have all seen the scenes this week in Kyiv

Russia using some of the deadliest weapons in its arsenal

On innocent children.

Striking a hospital.

When I went to Kyiv, I saw for myself the devastation and inhumanity of Russian aggression.

I went to Bucha, just outside Kyiv and spoke to some of the people there

who described to me and pointed to me on the road

Where they had picked up the bodies of their friends

their family members

who had been killed, many of them handcuffed

And had to transport them to find graves for them

Its In shopping trollies, they told me, that is the only way they could move those bodies

And that had a profound effect on me as they dug those graves mass graves of people who had been shot and left on their own.

The alternative to Ukraines victory isunthinkable.

Not only an afront to our values

A green light to aggressors everywhere.

And the fate of Ukraine is a cause that unites Britain.

And that is why we will deliver

3 billion worth of support to Ukraine each year for as long as it takes.

We will speed up our delivery of military aid.

And together with our NATO allies

We havepledged40 billion of support to Ukraine every year

Weve established a new body to coordinate that support

Agreed to ramp up industrial production

And confirmed Ukraines irreversible path to full NATO membership.

As I told President Zelensky today

NATO will be stronger with Ukraine as a member.

And because of the generational threat from Russia, that demands a generational response

So we will increase NATOs focus on future threats around the world

With Britain playing its full role.

We will continue to put our armed forces at NATOs disposal

Maintain our presence in Estonia and Poland

Lead the land arm of the Allied Response Force this year

And maintain and modernise our nuclear deterrent.

Today, this alliance is stronger than ever.

23 members are now spending 2% of their GDP on defence.

But in light of the grave threats to our security, wemustgo further.

So we will conduct a Strategic Defence Review

To strengthen our armed forces

And protect our national security.

And we will set out a clear path to spending 2.5% of our GDP on defence.

And I say with candour to all our allies

We must understand that this is now essential.

This is a defensive alliance.

We do not seek conflict.

But we know that the best way to avoid it is to prepare for it

And to lead.

Britain belongs on the world stage

So I am determined

To reset our relationship with Europe

Return to leadership on climate change

And engage more deeplywith the global south.

Because whether the challenges we face are military

Or global challenges like climate change, cyber and energy security

We will meet them head on.

Stand - shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends and allies.

Because history shows we are stronger when we do.

This morning I laid a wreath

At the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at Arlington Cemetery.

It was an incredibly moving moment, just being there, seeing the very, very many graves

And that wreath laying

To honour the sacrifice made by so many Americans

Side by side with British troops

In defence of our freedom.

It is a reminder of our unbreakable bond with the United States.

A bond which I reaffirmed here with President Biden.

And a reminder

That we must honour the service and sacrifice of our veterans

With the decisions that we take today.

So we meet this moment with a new resolve

Determined to renew Britains place on the world stage

Proud of what we have to offer

Confident, not just in the value of our strength

But in the strength of our values.

Britain was at the heart of creating NATO 75 years ago.

And our commitment remains unshakeable

The foundation of our security and prosperity for many years to come.

Thank you.