[A-List] Istanbul Cooperation Initiative: NATO Boosts Military Ties With 13 Mideast States

["tony black" <tal@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Rick Rozoff
To: Stop NATO
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 8:36 AM
Subject: [stopnato] Istanbul Cooperation Initiative: NATO Boosts Military 
Ties With 13 Mideast States


http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=5156

The Seoul Times (South Korea)
April 19, 2007

Cooperation Between ICI Countries & NATO


-At their June 2004 Istanbul Summit, NATO leaders
offered to elevate the Mediterranean Dialogue to a
genuine partnership with the following objectives:
enhancing the existing political dialogue; achieving
interoperability; developing defense reform....
-NATO has had talks for the moment with six individual
members of the GCC: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, adding that
four countries at present: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and
the United Emirates have joined ICI.

Nicola de Santis, Head of the Mediterranean Dialogue
(MD) and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Countries
(ICI) Section, NATO Public Diplomacy Division, said
that Nato's relationship with countries in the region
has already a more than decennial tradition through
the Mediterranean Dialogue in a lecture at the
Information Affairs Office of H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister in Abu Dhabi on
April 18.

He pointed out that in order to enhance Mediterranean
Dialogue and to reach out to countries in the broader
Middle East region, in December 2003 NATO nations
decided to consult, before the June 2004 Istanbul
Summit, our Mediterranean partners and interested
countries in the broader region.

Taking into account the views of the consulted
countries, NATO has launched at its Istanbul Summit a
more ambitious and expanded framework for the
Mediterranean Dialogue and NATO's outreach with, and
cooperation to, interested countries in the broader
Middle East region, through the Istanbul Cooperation
Initiative, starting with individual members of the
Gulf Cooperation Council, he said.

He indicated that the NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue
was launched in December 1994, reaching out to
non-NATO nations in the Mediterranean, willing and
able to contribute to security and stability in the
region.
....
Mr. de Santis said that NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue
was since its inception characterized by a phased
approach, with the number of participating countries
growing from the five initial members to include other
countries, which has allowed the content of the
Dialogue to evolve throughout the years.

He said that Since 1997, measures for practical
cooperation between NATO and Mediterranean Dialogue
(MD) countries are laid down in an annual Work
Program, which aims at building mutual confidence
through active cooperation in security-related areas.

This Work Program, he said, comprises a wide range of
activities including public diplomacy; civil emergency
planning; science and the environment; crisis
management; defense policy and strategy; small arms
and light weapons; global humanitarian mine action;
initiatives on WMD proliferation; and a sound program
of military cooperation.

While the practical cooperative dimension is primarily
bilateral (NATO+1, or 26+1 as it is termed, as well),
the MD also allows for multilateral political
consultations (NATO+7, or 26+7) and bilateral
political consultations (NATO+1, or 26+1), at
Ambassadorial level under the Chairmanship of the NATO
Secretary General, or at working level under the
Chairmanship of a representative of NATO's
International Staff.

At their June 2004 Istanbul Summit, NATO leaders
offered to elevate the Mediterranean Dialogue to a
genuine partnership with the following objectives:
enhancing the existing political dialogue; achieving
interoperability; developing defense reform;
contributing to the fight against terrorism, he said.

He pointed out that these objectives can be achieved
through enhanced cooperation in a number of practical
priority areas listed in the policy document "A More
Ambitious and Expanded Framework for the Mediterranean
Dialogue", released by NATO at the Istanbul Summit.

The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) aims at
enhancing security and regional stability through a
new transatlantic engagement in the broader Middle
East region, by promoting practical cooperation with
interested countries, in areas where NATO can
represent an added value, he explained.

He said, that based upon the principal of
inclusiveness, ICI is opened to all interested
countries in the region who subscribe to the aim and
content of this initiative, including the fight
against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction.

He mentioned that NATO has had talks for the moment
with six individual members of the GCC: Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates, adding that four countries at present:
Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Emirates have
joined ICI.

Concerning the role of NATO in solving the conflict in
the Middle East, Mr. de Santis stated that the
Alliance is not a party to this conflict, as there are
many players in this conflict, and no one asked NATO
to intervene, but he said that NATO does support the
Quartet and the United Nation's efforts in solving
this issue.

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