NATO meets Gulf partners
NATO and partner countries in the Gulf held the fourth Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) Policy Advisory Group Meeting, on 22-23 January 2018.
Coming together for the first time in the NATO-ICI Regional Centre in Kuwait for this meeting, the participants from NATO, the ICI countries - Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates – as well as representatives from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the Gulf Cooperation Council, discussed the achievements of their cooperation and how to further enhance it.
"Recognising that the security and stability of the Gulf region and of the Euro-Atlantic area are inextricably linked, we have come together to discuss our next steps in addressing common security challenges," NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Ambassador Alejandro Alvargonzález said. "These discussions have paved the way for enhanced cooperation at all levels."
The discussions also provided an opportunity to further the aims of the NATO-ICI Regional Centre, inaugurated one year ago in Kuwait by the NATO Secretary General, the North Atlantic Council and Ministers from ICI countries.
The ICI was established in 2004 at the NATO Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. Through this cooperative framework, NATO and the Gulf have intensified political consultations and the exchange of expertise in critical areas. This has also enabled them to work together in NATO-led and UN-mandated military operations.