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| Last update: 15-Apr-2004 14:50 | NATO Update |
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Preparing NATO for the future
Top NATO civilian and military officials met in Norfolk, US, on 6 April for a high-level seminar on NATO’s transformation and developing forces that can be rapidly deployed across the globe. The event was organized by NATO’s Transformation Command, ACT. It provided Alliance decision-makers with the opportunity to freely debate the challenges that lie ahead for NATO. Capabilities for future missions One of the main issues discussed was a reform of NATO’s defence and mission planning process to ensure that the Alliance has adequate military capabilities for future missions. Participants also discussed experimentation and training aimed at enhancing the Alliance’s ability to tackle new security threats. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and United States Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld participated in the seminar and held a joint news conference. The Secretary General pointed out that Afghanistan was an example of NATO’s new focus on global issues. “Afghanistan is NATO’s number one priority,” said Mr. de Hoop Scheffer. “That is a major obligation the Alliance has entered into. I want to see that political commitment which the Alliance has entered into completely and fully translated into military resources.” The seminar was attended by the Permanent Representatives of the NATO member countries and NATO’s top military commanders. Driving NATO's transformation Allied Command Transformation (ACT) was established in 2003. It is charged with promoting the transformation of Alliance militaries in order to ensure NATO's forces are structured to meet the challenges of the new security environment. The command’s Headquarters are in Norfolk, US. This year’s seminar on “21st Century Military Capabilities:
What We’ve Learned and Where We’re Going” was the second annual ACT
seminar on NATO’s transformation. It follows the 2003 seminar on
“Building on Capabilities and Steering Change”.  |
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