International Seminar “From Dialogue to Partnership. Security in the Mediterranean and NATO: Future Prospects” Rome, Italian Parliament 30 Sept. 2002

From Dialogue to Partnership Mediterranean Security and NATO: Future Prospects International Conference organised by the Italian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in cooperation with the NATO Office of Information and Press and Istituto Affari Internazionali Rome, 30 September 2002 - Italian House of Deputies From the event: Papers, speeches & photos More information Agenda Press Release NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue NATO Prague Summit On 30 September 2002 the Italian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, in cooperation with the NATO Office of Information and Press and the Italian Institute of International Affairs (IAI), organised an International Conference on “From Dialogue to Partnership. Security in the Mediterranean and NATO: Future Prospects". The Conference took place at the Italian Parliament in Rome. Distinguished speakers included the Secretary General of NATO, Lord Robertson, the President of the Italian House of Deputes, Hon. Pier Ferdinando Casini, the Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Sen. Lamberto Dini, the Defence Minister of Italy Hon. Antonio Martino, the Chairman of the Italian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assemby, Sen. Giovanni Lorenzo Forcieri, the Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Sen. Mario Palombo. The 250 high level participants in the Conference also included NATO Permanent Representatives on the North Atlantic Council, the Mediterranean Dialogue countries’ Ambassadors in Brussels and in Rome, parliamentarians, academics and opinion leaders from NATO and Mediterranean Dialogue countries. At the Conference two papers were presented by Prof. Roberto Aliboni, Vice President of the Rome based Institute of International Affairs and Prof. Monem Said Aly, Director of the Cairo based Al-Ahram Center for Political &Strategic Studies (ACPSS), to set the tone of the discussion. This conference represented an important opportunity for representatives of NATO and Mediterranean Dialogue countries to meet jointly to discuss the way ahead for NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue. As such, the conference also represented a significant step towards greater mutual understanding and confidence building between NATO and Mediterranean Dialogue countries. This event was particularly timely before the November Prague Summit, as the Alliance considers how to further enhance NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue. NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue was launched in 1994 and currently involves seven non-NATO countries of the Mediterranean region: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Dialogue reflects the Alliance's view that security in Europe is closely linked to security and stability in the Mediterranean and it is a fundamental component of the Alliance's policy of outreach and cooperation.