Speaking during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, Stoltenberg said that Poland has become a key ally and a security provider since joining NATO 25 years ago.
"You are building one of the biggest armies in NATO," Stoltenberg told Duda. "You spend around 4 percent of GDP on defence, topping the NATO table, and you are adding major capabilities, including F-35s, HIMARS, and helicopters.”
At their meeting in Brussels, Stoltenberg and Duda addressed Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the need to step up support, NATO said in a statement.
“Despite heavy Russian losses, Putin has not scaled back his war aims,” Stoltenberg said. "The situation remains difficult. Ukraine is in dire need of ammunition."
He thanked Poland for being one of Ukraine's strongest supporters, according to the nato.int website.
"Poland makes the whole alliance stronger, and NATO makes all allies safer," he said.
Poland joined NATO on March 12, 1999, alongside the Czech Republic and Hungary.
According to Polish officials, the talks between Duda and Stoltenberg also focused on strengthening the alliance’s eastern flank and preparations for NATO's Washington summit in July.
'We guard the eastern border of the alliance': Polish president
The Polish president told reporters at a joint news conference with Stoltenberg that his country is a key security provider on the eastern flank of the alliance, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Duda said: "We are not only a recipient of security from our allies, but from the very beginning, as a reliable member of the Alliance, we have also provided security and peace to others, standing shoulder to shoulder in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, we support our Baltic neighbours and guard the eastern border of the North Atlantic Alliance with full responsibility."
Duda added: "We want to be responsible for our own security. That's why we spend 4 percent of GDP on defence. I appeal to our allies that we all increase our spending from 2 percent of GDP to a minimum of 3 percent to make our policies truly effective. Today we need more strength, more military resources, and an effective research and development policy."
Earlier this week, Duda and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held security talks with US President Joe Biden in Washington.
During their meeting with Biden at the White House, Duda said that NATO allies should consider increasing their defence spending from 2 percent of GDP to 3 percent "in response to the full–scale war, launched by Russia right beyond NATO’s eastern border."
Duda told Biden on Tuesday: "Russia's aggression against Ukraine clearly demonstrated that the United States is and should remain the security leader. But other Allies must take more responsibility for the security of the Alliance as a whole."
Ahead of his trip to Washington, Duda said he would embark on a diplomatic offensive to persuade fellow alliance members to boost defence spending to 3 percent of GDP in response to Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 750 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: nato.int, IAR, PAP