DAYTON — Dayton has been chosen to host an event that will bring in hundreds of leaders from all over the world next year.
As announced exclusively on News Center 7 at 5:00, Dayton Congressman Mike Turner confirmed that Dayton will host the spring session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly in May 2025. It’ll mark the first time the United States has hosted a spring session of the assembly in two decades.
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Turner serves as the head of the United States delegation to NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly. The group wanted to do something to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords which ended the Bosnian War in 1995.
“I suggested that they come here. They agreed. We expect that about 650 people from just over 50 countries will come here,” Turner said. “And with that, we’ll have the Secretary General of NATO.”
650 people from NATO and partner countries meet to discuss the important issues that NATO itself is discussing. The parliamentarians work to pass resolutions to try to effect and change policy.
“For example, we just had a meeting, and the major topic there was changing the restraints on Ukraine so they can use the weapons they’ve been provided to attack inside Russia to defend themselves,” Turner explained.
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Turner said he secured some federal funding as well as money from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly itself, but instead of holding this event at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, like the Dayton Peace Accords, the focus of this huge gathering will be Downtown Dayton.
“Well, this event will celebrate the role that Dayton has in really international events. With Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, so much of our national security travels through Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and occurs within the fence there, just as the Dayton Peace Accord negotiations when we had all the world leaders descend upon Dayton,” Turner said.
Turner said the spring session is expected to take place around Memorial Day weekend next year.
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