Chicago to host next NATO summit

NATO's next summit will be held in Chicago, US, on May 20-21, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has announced. "We'll have the next NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21 next year. This will be an important summit, following up on the decisions taken at Lisbon last year, but also breaking new ground," he said in a statement released Friday. The Chicago summit agenda has not yet been finalised, but NATO's Enduring Partnership with Afghanistan , which was agreed at the last NATO summit in Lisbon, will be a key point. The NATO summit in the Portuguese capital agreed to create a system to defend NATO European territories and populations against ballistic-missile threats. "In Chicago, I hope and expect we'll be able to declare interim operational capability. This will be a significant step forward, because we have been discussing the development of a NATO-based missile defence system for many many years," said Rasmussen. The NATO chief said at the Chicago summit he hopes to break new ground in the Alliance's partnership with other countries and organisations, especially in North Africa and the Middle East. "There are many positive lessons learnt from our Libya operations. We'd also like to broaden the perspective and further strengthen these partnerships, " added Rasmussen. The Chicago meeting will be the first NATO summit in the United States since 1999 when the Alliance celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in Washington.