WARSAW, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held talks on Thursday, discussing modernizing the Polish army, European military cooperation under the NATO umbrella and support for Ukraine.

"The military alliance is active and realising its objectives. NATO is capable of responding to the challenges posed by current events," Duda said in a press conference with Stoltenberg after their meeting.

Duda said he discussed with the NATO secretary general about the need "to make NATO forces mobile".

The two sides also discussed about the situation in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea and in the Middle East and about the need to support Ukraine, Duda said.

Stoltenberg's visit to Poland is part of a week of events dedicated to commemorating the anniversary of 20 years since Poland joined NATO.

During the press conference, Stoltenberg praised Poland's strong commitment to the alliance, saying that Poland was setting an example by allocating 2 percent of its GDP to defense.

Earlier on Thursday, Duda had said that the modernisation needs of the Polish army required an increase of military spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2024.

"The needs of the Polish army, when it comes to the technical modernisation and filling the personnel needs, are huge, which unfortunately can be seen lately," Duda said earlier on Thursday during press remarks.