UK and Netherlands defence ministers pledge deeper cooperation on NATO, Ukraine and Hormuz in a joint statement

The United Kingdom and the Netherlands have set out a joint defence agenda built around NATO, Ukraine and maritime security, in a statement published on 4 November 2026 by UK Secretary of State for Defence Wes Streeting and Dutch Minister of Defence Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius. The two ministers describe their countries as “natural defence partners” and say the greatest potential of the relationship “lies ahead”.

The text is a political statement of intent rather than an announcement of new money or deployments. It names no figures, dates or new contracts, but it shows which projects London and The Hague want to put at the centre of their cooperation as European allies carry more of the burden inside NATO.

A joint amphibious force and a shared ship programme

The ministers point to more than fifty years in which British and Dutch forces have trained and operated together through their joint Amphibious Force. Today, they write, the two countries are close NATO allies and partners in the Joint Expeditionary Force, with cooperation across the maritime, land and air domains.

They highlight the UK-NL Enhanced Maritime Partnership and say work continues “at pace” on the joint Amphibious Transport Ship programme, which they call a demonstration of UK and Dutch industry delivering joint capability. The statement does not give a cost, a delivery schedule or the number of ships.

Industry, supply chains and technology

Looking ahead, the two governments say they will use their industrial and technological strengths to deepen capability cooperation, align investment, strengthen resilient supply chains and move innovation into military capability faster. Closer industrial cooperation, they argue, can help both nations deliver capability more quickly and reinforce what they call the European contribution to NATO.

Ukraine and the Strait of Hormuz

The statement says bilateral cooperation is already working on shared security challenges: supporting Ukraine through the Multinational Force Ukraine, and working together in the Strait of Hormuz Multinational Military Mission to uphold maritime security and freedom of navigation.

Both missions have featured in earlier Geopolitiki coverage. The planning for the Gulf mission was described in Strait of Hormuz: Britain and France lead planning of the multinational mission, with autonomous mine-hunting already in the region, while the Ukraine force is the subject of the exercise covered in UK and France to lead Exercise Koalicja in Poland, a 2,800-strong rehearsal for the Multinational Force Ukraine.

Context

Dutch defence policy has been in the news in recent weeks, including the minister’s remarks on Russia reported in Netherlands: “Russia is our enemy,” says the defence minister; the Russian embassy threatens a “crushing response”. The new joint statement is more measured in tone and is aimed at allies and industry rather than at Moscow.

The ministers close by saying that the strength of the defence relationship is “delivering real strategic effect”, reinforcing NATO deterrence and defence while advancing shared security across Europe and globally. No follow-up meeting or timetable is given in the statement.