KUWAIT: Despite some differences in opinions and views within the alliance with issues especially related to peace and security, NATO members always get together eventually to make sure their alliance remains strong, a senior NATO official said yesterday. "Whatever differences they had in the past, they would always come out a stronger and better alliance," NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana said while speaking to reporters after a forum attended by the NATO-Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) four member countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
"We have been operating like this ever since; with different views and opinions from among our members, starting from the issue of Swiss Canal; even the Coalition of the Willing in Iraq, where some of our NATO allies where very much unhappy about the operation," he said "Even with the crisis situation in Syria, we had some differences in views, and we recognized that, but the magic of NATO is that when we get together, whatever differences we had in the past, we set it aside and we come out stronger and a better alliance."
The purpose of the meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO's principal political decision-making body, with "our Gulf partners" at the NATO-ICI Regional Centre in Kuwait is to take stock of the progress made within the framework of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), Geoana said. In a briefing session, the official said, "The meeting is to discuss a common way forward to make our partnership even more efficient." The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was launched at the NATO Summit in Istanbul in 2004. Since then it has been the bedrock of NATO's relationship with four of the Gulf countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, he said.
A lot has been achieved so far, he said, adding, "We have conducted a wide range of practical activities, including for instance military training and education, crisis management and dealing with natural and man-made disasters. "The NATO-ICI Regional Centre in Kuwait which the NATO Secretary General inaugurated in 2017 has played an important role in this regard. "We have welcomed more than 1,000 officers and experts from NATO and the Gulf there, for joint training, cooperation and capacity building. "We are also working together to develop national expertise and resilience on crisis management, cyber, energy, and maritime security, in addition to defense against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats," he said.
Furthermore, the center has helped NATO's outreach to the Gulf Cooperation Council, to Saudi Arabia and Oman. "The security of our Istanbul Cooperation Initiative partners is of strategic importance to NATO. The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative remains a unique platform in which to discuss security issues of common concern. With instability in the Middle East and North Africa, NATO's partnerships are more valuable than ever," he added. The recent NATO meeting in London, leaders reaffirmed that NATO is a defensive Alliance and poses no threat to any country and work to increase security for all. "In this respect, NATO have strengthened partnerships in neighborhood and beyond and we deepened political dialogue, support, and engagement with partner countries and international organizations," the official added.
By Ben Garcia