Pompeo comments on 5G, energy security and NATO

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Slovenia on Thursday to make the case for high-speed wireless networks that bar Chinese companies like Huawei.

On the second leg of a four-nation tour of central and eastern Europe, Pompeo met Slovenian officials in the mountain lake town of Bled on Thursday.

During his visit, Pompeo signed a joint declaration with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa about 5G network security that aims to keep untrusted telecommunications vendors out of the nation.

Speaking alongside Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, Pompeo said the "5G Clean Network Security" agreement was "imperative" to protect national security between the US and European nations.

The Secretary of State has led a US campaign across Europe and elsewhere against Huawei and other Chinese companies that the Trump administration accuses of sharing data with China’s security apparatus.

Pompeo also spoke about energy security at the joint news conference and urged European nations to have a "diversified energy base" to avoid depending on certain nations and sources for power.

He also praised Slovenia, a NATO ally, for boosting its defence spending in the alliance in recent months.