Middle-East experts gather at NATO Headquarters
On 27 June, a group of Middle East experts from think tanks and research institutes from the Middle East, Europe and North America visited NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The guests met with representatives from the NATO International Staff and International Military Staff and engaged in a fruitful exchange of views on current developments in the Middle East, perceptions of NATO in the region and the role of NATO in regional security.
The meeting was convened by Acting Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Dr. Stefanie Babst, who stressed that the purpose of this meeting was to seek expert opinions on developments in Libya and the Middle East and hold a thorough discussion on the evolution of events and on the future role of NATO in the region.
Addressing the visitors and NATO colleagues, Dr. Babst said, “The Arab Spring has shown the world that the people in the Middle East and North Africa aspire for democracy, security and rule of law but we must be mindful that these transition processes are still very much in flux. Developments in Egypt and Tunisia have also shown the immense power of social media and other modern communication tools to bring people closer and work together towards a better future.”
Mr Martin Howard, Assistant Secretary General for Operations, Mr James Apathurai, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy and Special Representative on Central Asia and the Caucasus, and Mr Nicola de Santis, Head of the Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative were among the senior members of the NATO International Staff who also briefed the group on Operation Unified Protector and NATO’s policy towards the Middle East.
The discussion covered a wide range of topics including the role of regional organisations, countries in the region, perceptions of NATO and the West, and the role of NATO partnership programmes such as Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI). “MD and ICI have proven to be successful frameworks for ensuring security cooperation in the region, and crucial for increasing the levels of trust between the parties as seen in the Arab League for the no-fly zone over Libya,” said one participant.
After a lunch hosted by Dr. Babst, the guests were invited to actively participate in the brainstorming session that followed.
The meeting was hosted by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division in cooperation with the Political Affairs Division and the Policy Planning Unit of the Secretary General’s Private Office.