From the event

22-23 Oct 2007

Deputy Secretary General opens NATO Public Diplomacy Symposium in Israel

On 22 October, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero and the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Ms. Tzipi Livni opened a two-day symposium on: “NATO-Israel Relations and the Mediterranean Dialogue", co-sponsored by the NATO Public Diplomacy Division and the Atlantic Forum of Israel in Herzliya.

The symposium brought together high-level opinion leaders and policy makers from Israel and officials from NATO.

"Never before we have been confronted with more rapid and more fundamental international change. And never before the international environment confronted us with so many contradictions," said Ambassador Bisogniero, "So how do we meet all these different challenges? I believe there is only one answer – and that is to explore new innovative approaches of security cooperation which break through and reach out well beyond established geographical, cultural or religious boundaries”.   

"The logic of NATO’s Partnerships is to make the transition from a geographical towards a functional approach to security. A key element of this partnership policy is the Mediterranean Dialogue that we started back in 1994 and which currently comprises seven countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East, including Israel."

During the visit, Ambassador Bisogniero also met for bilateral talks with Ms. Tzipi Livni, Mr. Avigdor Lieberman, Minister for Strategic Threats, Mr. Tzachi Hanegbi, Chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, and other senior Israeli officials.