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INTRODUCTION
How to use this Guide “We, the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, meet today in Istanbul to renew our commitment to collective defence, and to address together NATO’s response to the security challenges we face at the beginning of the 21st century.”
from The Istanbul Declaration: Our security in a new era
The Istanbul Summit was held during a period of unprecedented activity for the Alliance. NATO is involved in numerous operations and missions from the Straits of Gibraltar to Afghanistan. The Summit took major steps to ensure that Alliance members acquire the military capabilities needed in order to be able to conduct these operations and missions and others in the future. It was the first Summit of NATO leaders from 26 countries, following the accession of seven new members in March 2004, but it reaffirmed that the door remains open for further enlargement while reinforcing other partnerships and creating new ones.
The Summit took place as sovereignty was transferred to the Iraqi Interim Government. At Istanbul, NATO leaders agreed to assist the Iraqi Interim Government with the training of its security forces and tasked the North Atlantic Council to develop ways to implement this decision.
These activities are reflected in the documents issued by the Summit. The texts show the range of missions and partnerships of the Alliance.
This reader’s guide brings together all the official texts and declarations issued or endorsed by the Istanbul Summit. Each text is reproduced in its entirety and represents the formal views of NATO and the countries which participated in the various meetings at Istanbul.
The guide also includes background information to the official texts
and declarations. These texts provide the reader with background information and additional explanations of Alliance policies and activities which are addressed in the official texts and communiqués.
The materials contained in this guide are organised thematically, beginning with the Istanbul Summit Communiqué, which outlines point by point the achievements of the Summit itself. The Summit was built on three pillars – operations and missions, capabilities, and partnerships – to which separate sections of this guide are devoted.
Note: References made in this document to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are marked with an asterisk (*) referring to the following footnote: “Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.”
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