NATO Ankara Summit 2026: Who's attending, key agenda items and what to expect

NATO Summit 2025 is going to take place in Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 7-8. This year’s summit holds a significant importance as the US President Donald Trump is pressurizing European allies to boost defence spending.

The gathering of 32-leaders comes in the midst of growing uncertainty created by Trump’s growing criticism of NATO’s spending along with troops withdrawal from Europe and 6-month review of US military presence on the continent.

Who is attending the NATO Summit?

The highly-anticipated summit will be attended by all 32 NATO member states, including President Donald Trump.

Other key leaders are also expected to attend the summit events, including

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy,
• South Korean President Lee Jae Myung
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
• European Council President Antonio Costa

During the summit, separate discussions will also take place between the foreign ministers from UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain and Ukraine and the EU ministers.

NATO defence ministers are also set to hold ​talks with ministers from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Key issues on the agenda

The Summit will touch upon various key issues including defence spending. Ukraine issue, Middle East, defence industry and future of the alliance.

Boosting defence spending

The Trump administration is aggressively pushing for a fundamental restructuring of the transatlantic security alliance, demanding that European nations assume primary responsibility for their own defense.

In last year’s summit, the member states made a commitment of boosting defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035. Of the 5 percent, 3.5 percent would be allocated for core defence and remaining 1.5 percent for resilience, infrastructure and cybersecurity.

This year’s Ankara Summit serves as a “delivery” checkpoint to assess progress while paving the way for accessing US defence procurement and diplomatic cooperation for those who are close to reaching this figure.

According to a draft text seen by Reuters, "In 2025, European Allies and Canada increased their investments in core defence requirements by ​more than $139bn," leaders are expected to say in a summit declaration.”

"We are building the future: a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO - a modernised Alliance. European Allies and Canada, working with the United States, are assuming greater responsibility for the Alliance’s defence," it added.

Expanding defense production

Besides boosting the defence spending, the US is also ramping up the pressure on European allies to expand their domestic defense industrial capacity.

In the summit, the focus will be placed on scaling up defence production, innovation and weapons buildup. This year’s summit will also host a defence industry forum to announce the deals worth of billions.

The expansion of domestic production would allow the European allies to boost self-sufficiency while giving them an edge to tackle the growing security challenges.

Supporting Ukraine

In this summit, the Nato leaders would reaffirm their military support for Ukraine. "For 2026, Allies pledge €70bn in military equipment, assistance and training for Ukraine and affirm their sovereign ​commitments to sustaining at least equivalent levels in 2027," the leaders are expected to say.

Moreover, Ukraine is also expected to receive funding from the EU loan facility and bilateral pledges for defence investment and procurement for 2026-2027. However, the US will contribute to this funding.

According to a top official as reported by The Guardian, Ukraine will sign major defence deals with at least 7 NATO countries by the end of this year.

Ankara Summit: A strategic gain for Turkey

The host of the summit is set to gain a strategic edge through hosting the NATO alliance, giving it the opportunity to showcase its booming defence industry and build military cooperation with member states.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to leverage upcoming bilateral talks with President Trump to advocate for several key defense priorities.

Key among these are advancing procurement projects, such as the SAMP/T missile defense system, and calling for the lifting of international restrictions on defense trade.

Furthermore, the Turkish President is expected to push for the formal removal of US sanctions and seek a path for Turkey’s reinstatement into the F-35 fighter jet program.