26 Oct - 2 Nov 
The Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Robert F. Simmons, is paying a working visit to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan from 26 October to 2 November to discuss ongoing cooperation activities and regional security issues.
In Kyrgyzstan, he will meet the President, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Emergency Situations. The main topics of discussion will be Kyrgyzstan's ongoing activities in the Planning and Review Process (PARP), science and civil emergency planning activities, Kyrgyzstan's valuable support to NATO's ISAF mission in Afghanistan, and the regional security situation more generally.
In Kazakhstan, Mr Simmons will meet the Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, Minister of Emergency Situations, and Members of Parliament. They will discuss the implementation of Kazakhstan's Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO, cooperation in the field of civil emergency planning and military education, and the regional security situation, in particular in Afghanistan.
The Allies decided to appoint a Special Representative to the strategically important regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia at the Istanbul Summit in June 2004. Mr Simmons is the first to be given this responsibility. His role is to maintain high-level working contacts with regional leaders in support of NATO’s objectives in the region, namely promoting regional security and furthering NATO cooperation programmes there.
