5 Oct. 2006

NATO-Ukraine defence cooperation gathers pace News 3/10/06 - NATO Secretary General to Chair High-Level NATO-Ukraine consultations Opinions 5/10/06 - NATO Remarks by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the signing ceremony for the letter of intent for the nations expressing their support for the NATO-Ukraine partnership network for civil society expertise development 5/10/06 - NATO Opening Statement by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the fifth Informal High-Level NATO-Ukraine Consultations with participation of Defence Ministers and other senior officials from Ukraine and NATO countries Background NATO-Ukraine relations Multimedia High resolution photos of the fifth Informal High-Level NATO-Ukraine Consultations in Sintra, Portugal The fifth Informal High-Level NATO-Ukraine Consultations with participation of Defence Ministers and other senior officials from Ukraine and NATO countries were held in Sintra, Portugal, on 5 October. Participants discussed, among other issues, progress in implementing Ukraine’s defence and security sector reforms, and NATO’s support for these efforts. “The achievement of further progress in this respect will depend on the implementation of concrete actions and the allocation of sufficient resources,” said NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. New initiatives “NATO stands ready to continue to assist Ukraine in managing its comprehensive reform programme, but progress will of course depend on the energy and commitment of the new Ukrainian government,” he stressed. On the margins of the meeting, two new initiatives in support of defence and security sector reform in Ukraine were launched. A group of NATO countries and Ukraine signed a Letter of Intent for Nations expressing their Support for the NATO-Ukraine Partnership Network for Civil Society Expertise Development. Also, a NATO-Ukraine Working Group on Civil and Democratic Control of the Intelligence Sector - which will support Ukraine in establishing effective oversight of its intelligence structures - was inaugurated. Mr Lech Walesa, former President of the Republic of Poland and the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, delivered a keynote speech at the meeting. Cooperation in the area of defence and security sector reform is a key component of the NATO-Ukraine partnership, more extensive than with any other Partner country. The conference was co-organised by NATO and the Portuguese Atlantic Committee.