English

download

NATO Spokesman James Appathurai gives a rundown of the informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence, held in Taormina, Italy, 9-10 February. He explains some of the key discussions and their impact on the Alliance as preparations continue for the November Summit in Riga.

NATO Spokesman James Appathurai describes some of the key issues being addressed during Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer’s visit to Washington, mainly Afghanistan, Darfur and the upcoming Riga Summit. He then describes in brief the next high level event scheduled to take place in Rabat this April.

The NATO Secretary General takes a moment out of his busy schedule to preview some key upcoming events, starting off with a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Sofia, which will lay the political groundwork for the NATO Summit in Riga this November. He also talks about a major NATO event in Russia and a planned visit by the North Atlantic Council to Kosovo.

The NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, talks about how NATO is standing up to the 'spoilers' who want to derail the nation-building process in Afghanistan. But he also describes why military solutions alone are not enough for Afghanistan. He explains that NATO Defence Ministers will discuss this, as well as Kosovo, Darfur and preparations for the Riga Summit during an important meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels in June.

On 28 June, the NATO Reaction Force ended the active phase of its last test before the Force becomes fully operational in October.

Held in Cape Verde , Exercise Steadfast Jaguar involved some 7,000 sailors, soldiers and airmen in various simulated operations including a demonstration of force and a relief operation following a humanitarian disaster.

On 4 July 2006, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Jean Fournet, and the first deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Abid Sharifov, officially inaugurated a melange conversion plant in Azerbaijan.

NATO owns a fleet of AWACS E-3A radar aircraft, which provides the Alliance with an immediately available airborne surveillance, warning and command capability.

Video courtesy of the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force

The President of Serbia, Mr. Boris Tadic visited NATO Headquarters on Wednesday, 19 July 2006. He met with the Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and they had an exchange of views with members of the North Atlantic Council.

The Secretary General talks about the situation in the Middle East, a high profile visit to Afghanistan on the eve of a significant expansion of NATO's presence and role in the country, and explains how NATO stands ready to keep peace in Kosovo as talks on the province's future continue. He also describes the continuing preparations for NATO's Riga Summit in November.

Mr. Zurab Nogaideli, Prime Minister of Georgia, visited NATO Headquarters on Wednesday, 26 July 2006 . He met with the Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and with the North Atlantic Council.

A tribute was paid today, 11 September 2006 to all victims of terrorist attacks at a commemorative ceremony which took place at NATO Headquarters.

Lieutenant General Ulrich Wolf, the Director of the NATO Communication and Information Systems Services Agency, NCSA, explains the important role his agency plays in supporting the communication needs of NATO's operations, exercises, headquarters, and the transformation of NATO.

Mr. Viktor Yanukovych, Prime Minister of Ukraine, visited NATO Headquarters on Thursday, 14 September 2006.  He met with the Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and with the North Atlantic Council, in the session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission.

NATO's new Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Stefanie Babst, talks about her role and priorities, the challenges NATO faces in its public diplomacy, preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit in Riga, and the importance of effective communication about NATO's operational engagements, particularly in Afghanistan.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Mr. Alexander Downer, visited NATO Headquarters on 25 September 2006 and addressed the North Atlantic Council

Students from the 26 NATO countries practiced NATO decision-making in a five-day seminar which coincided with the meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Portorož, Slovenia. They met with the Slovenian Minister of Defence, Karl Erjavec and with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer who briefed NATO Defence Ministers on the results.

Mr. Kassymzhomart Tokayev, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, visited NATO Headquarters on Wednesday, 4 October 2006. He met with the Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and with the North Atlantic Council.

What is the upcoming NATO Summit in Riga, Latvia, expected to deliver in terms of NATO’s military transformation? John Colston, Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, talks about some of the key issues on the agenda and the decisions that Heads of State and Government are expected to take.

Ambassador Alexander talks about the United Nation's and international community's priorities in Afghanistan, including building up the Afghan police, speeding up reconstruction and development, tackling the drugs industry and corruption.

NATO's top diplomat in Afghanistan, Ambassador Daan Everts, talks about his priorities, assess what has been accomplished so far, and what needs to be done in key areas such as reconstruction, tackling drugs and corruption, as well as in building up the Afghan army and police.

The President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, visited NATO Headquarters on 8 November 2006 to address the North Atlantic Council.

In the first in a new series of video commentary, NATO Spokesman James Appathurai gives his personal perspective on recent articles discussing NATO. He invites you to write in with your own comments and opinions, which could be featured in next week's installment.

The Alliance’s top military officers meet at NATO HQ, Brussels from 15 – 16 November, 2006 to discuss a wide variety of issues including NATO operations, and to shape key military work prior to the Riga Summit in two weeks’ time.

In the run up to NATO's Riga Summit, the Alliance's top operational commander talks about the status and way ahead for NATO's operations, including Afghanistan and Kosovo. He also talks about what the Summit could mean for NATO's operations.

General Henault talks about the results of the meetings of NATO Chiefs of Defence, NATO's Afghanistan mission and what the upcoming Riga Summit may hold for NATO's military transformation and operations.

The Chief of Defence of Pakistan, General UI Haq visited NATO Headquarters on 17 November 2006 and addressed the meeting of the NATO Military Committee.

In this second video commentary, NATO Spokesman James Appathurai gives his personal perspective on recent articles discussing NATO. He invites you to write in with your own comments and opinions, which could be featured in next week's installment.

A major exercise was held in Greece in November this year which tested NATO countries’ capability to share real-time intelligence to support operations, including counterterrorism.

Trial Spartan Hammer 06 tested for the first time a joint intelligence system combining land, maritime, airborne, space, and special operations forces assets.

Jim Lovell explains what makes strategic lift aircraft so special, describes some of their key characteristics and the kinds of roles that they can fulfill.

Video files from the NATO Summit in Riga, Latvia
(28-29 November) are available separately.

US Army Gen. John Craddock became the 15th Supreme Allied Commander Europe during a ceremony held at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Casteau, Belgium, December 7, 2006.

Representatives of the George C. Marshall Centre in Germany, including a participant from their Program in Advanced Security Studies, speak about the Centre, its purpose, its programmes, and its ongoing relationship with the Alliance.

Professor Pyrozkhov, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine talks about Ukraine's defence and security sector reform priorities, the challenges that Ukraine faces and how NATO's assistance is helping Ukraine address these issues.

This video was produced at the occasion of the international conference held in Kuwait City on 11-12 December 2006 and co-organised by the NATO Public Diplomacy Division and the Government of Kuwait on NATO and Gulf Countries: Facing Common Challenges Through the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative. The video provides the viewer with an overview of the history of NATO, an introduction to the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative and a presentation of NATO's military operations. More...

Source: The Government of Kuwait, with contribution from the NATO Public Diplomacy Division. 

The Chairman of the Tripresidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina , Mr. Nebojša Radmanović, will visit the NATO Headquarters on Thursday, 14 December 2006 for a meeting with the North Atlantic Council. During this meeting, Mr. Radmanović will sign the Framework Document for the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Partnership for Peace Programme.

The President of Montenegro, Mr. Filip Vujanovic, will visit the NATO Headquarters on Thursday, 14 December for a meeting with the North Atlantic Council. During this meeting, President Vujanovic will sign the Framework Document for the accession of Montenegro to the Partnership for Peace Programme.

The President of Serbia, Mr. Boris Tadić, will visit the NATO Headquarters on Thursday, 14 December for a meeting with the North Atlantic Council. During this meeting, Mr. Tadić will sign the Framework Document for the accession of Serbia to the Partnership for Peace Programme.

With the Holiday Season now approaching it's time to look back over the past year.