22 June 2005

Iraqi Foreign Minister calls for continuing NATO support News 21/06/2005 - NATO Visit to NATO by H.E. Mr. Hoshyar Zebari, Foreign Minister of Iraq Background NATO’s assistance to Iraq Opinions 21/06/2005 - NATO Transcript of the opening remarks at the North Atlantic Counil meeting with Mr. Zebari 21/06/2005 - NATO Transcript of the press point with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Minister Zebari Multimedia 21/06/2005 - NATO High resolution photos of the visit 21/06/2005 - NATO Audio of the opening of the North Atlantic Council meeting (MP3/4893Kb) 21/06/2005 - NATO Audio of the press point (MP3/5182Kb) During a visit to NATO HQ on 21 June, the Foreign Minister of Iraq, Hoshyar Zebari, thanked NATO for its “major role” in training Iraqi security forces, and called for further support. The visit came as NATO is preparing to step up its assistance to Iraq, by establishing a NATO Training, Education and Doctrine Centre outside of Baghdad this September. “There is no doubt that your contribution and your presence on the ground plays a major role to the build-up, training and equipping of our armed and security forces,” Minister Zebari said in an address to the North Atlantic Council, the Alliance’s principal decision-making body. Security a priority “One of our top priorities and challenges is to improve security,” Mr. Zebari stressed, “Without security there is very little that can be done.” Minister Zebari briefed the Council on the political and security situation in Iraq, calling for further support in the build-up of Iraq’s armed forces. Earlier, he had met for bilateral talks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Since August 2004, NATO has been working on the ground in Baghdad to train and mentor senior-level personnel from the Iraqi security forces, and to help equip the nascent forces. NATO aims to provide training to about 1,000 senior Iraqi officers in the country per year, and to about 500 outside of Iraq, as well as a significant amount of military equipment. Mr. Zebari was in Brussels for a high-level international conference on Iraq on 22 June. This was Mr. Zebari’s third visit to NATO HQ.