50 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review B. Allies, partners and global engagement 5.18 Strong alliances and partnerships worldwide are more important than ever. In almost every aspect of our national security and prosperity, we must work with others, not because we cannot work alone, but because the threats and opportunities are global. 5.19 Our geostrategic interests and our values are most closely shared with our traditional allies and partners, especially NATO countries, including the US and Canada, European partners, and Australia, New Zealand and Japan. We will invest in these alliances. 5.20 The UK has always sought to maintain and develop political, defence and security, trade, cultural and people-to-people relationships with a wide variety of countries and societies. The development of the Commonwealth over the last fifty years is testament to this. We will build further on our work of the last five years to strengthen security and prosperity partnerships in the Gulf, Africa and Asia Pacific. We will position the UK as a partner for growing powers, to enable us to protect and promote our interests into the future. 5.21 We will not always agree. But direct engagement is an asset to national security as it enables us to improve understanding, address areas of difference, protect our fundamental interests and values, and convince potential adversaries of the benefits of compromise and collaboration. 5.22 We will continue to use our FCO-led global network, and all of our government assets, to develop relationships and to support British individuals, companies and organisations across the world. The Euro-Atlantic area 5.23 The security and stability of the UK has long depended on our strong partnerships in the Euro-Atlantic area, including NATO. We will deepen our security, intelligence and defence relationships in particular with the US, France and Germany. North Atlantic Treaty Organization 5.24 NATO is the strongest and most effective military alliance in the world. It has formed the bedrock of our national defence, and of stability in the Euro-Atlantic area, for almost 70 years. Our collective Article 5 commitment, that an armed attack against one state shall be considered an attack on all, underpins the security of the UK and our Allies. 5.25 In September 2014, we hosted the NATO summit in Wales at a point of strategic importance for the Alliance. We set in motion the most significant strengthening of collective defence in a decade, as well as new initiatives to tackle modern security threats. The summit included an unprecedented commitment by 28 Heads of State and Government to halt the decline in defence expenditure. We also hosted over 60 partner countries and launched new joint initiatives to help prevent conflict, build security and enable other countries to draw on NATO’s extensive expertise and experience. 5.26 NATO is at the heart of the UK’s defence policy. The decisions taken in this National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review are informed by NATO’s political guidance. The choices we have made to invest in our Special Forces, cyber, Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft and BMD show our commitment to meeting NATO’s highest priority requirements.