Secretary General condemns assassination of Afghan female police officer

The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, condemns the killing of Mrs. Malalai Kakar by Taliban extremists on Sunday, 28 September 2008, in Kandahar City.

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NATO and UNAMA discuss cooperation in Afghanistan

Ambassador Kai Eide, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan, visited NATO on 29 September 2008. He met with the NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and updated NATO Ambassadors on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

NATO to exercise counter-terrorism technology in Italy

NATO holds its next major field test, Trial Imperial Hammer, this month in Sardinia (29 Sept-15 Oct 2008) to demonstrate how the Alliance’s ability to share time critical intelligence can better protect NATO forces and populations from terrorist attacks through better identification and tracking of enemy combatants.

NATO and partners hold exercises in Armenia

In the framework of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme, NATO and Partner nations will conduct two joint exercises, Cooperative Longbow 08 and Cooperative Lancer 08, in Armenia from 26 September to 21 October.

NATO Response Force exercises in Mediterranean Sea

Fifteen NATO nations will hold the annual maritime exercise Noble Midas 08 (NMS 08) from 26 September until 10 October 2008 in the Central Mediterranean.

Building terrorism-resistant communities: a NATO workshop

The role of the community in securing a safer environment in response to terrorist actions will be the main focus of a NATO science workshop in Washington D.C. on 26-27 September 2008.

Chairman of Military Committee visits Greece

Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, Chairman of the Military Committee, paid an official visit to Greece, 25-26 October 2008, to discuss NATO priorities and the ongoing process, to review and adapt NATO’s Command Structure and ways in which Greece could enhance its valued contribution to Alliance operations.

NATO and Sweden test improved civil-military crisis cooperation

On 24 and 25 September 2008 in Enköping, Sweden, NATO Allies and Swedish civilian and military forces will demonstrate new ways of effectively sharing critical information in emergency situations.

Intelligence sector reform talks

Expert staff talks on intelligence sector reform took place under the aegis of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defence Reform (JWGDR), in Jurmala, Latvia, on 24 September.

NATO and UN chiefs meet

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, at the United Nations General Assembly, met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss a range of international security issues.

Secretary General condemns terrorist bombing in Islamabad

On behalf of all the NATO Allies, I condemn in the strongest possible terms the terrorist bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. This grotesque attack, which has caused huge loss of life and great suffering, has no justification whatsoever.

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NATO Defence Ministers meet in London

On 18-19 September 2008, the Ministers of Defence of 26 Allied countries met in London. During informal sessions they exchanged views on a broad range of security and defence aspects of NATO’s agenda.

NATO Days in the Czech Republic

Photo by Lubomír Světnička

For their eighth edition, the annual NATO Days drew forty thousand visitors from 17 to 20 September to the Leos Janacek Airport in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Ten NATO nations presented their armed forces to the public in a programme including AWACS aircraft and military and security equipment exhibits.

Azeri Minister at NATO Headquarters

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov paid a visit to NATO HQ in Brussels on Wednesday 17 September 2008. Following a bilateral meeting with the Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Minister Mammadyarov addressed the North Atlantic Council.

“Czechoslovakia 1968 -1969”, forty years after

Forty years after the Prague Spring, an exhibition sponsored by the Czech and Slovak Delegations to NATO looks back at recently declassified archive material to explore the historical and international contexts of the crisis.

2008 NATO Standardization Conference to be held in the USA

On 16-18 September 2008, the NATO Standardization Conference will be held in the United States (USA) at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne, Virginia. This two and a half–day conference is sponsored by the United States Department of Defense, NATO Standardization Agency, and Allied Command Transformation (ACT). The event will bring together national delegates and experts from NATO and Partner countries.

North Atlantic Council visits Gori

On Tuesday 16 September, the NATO Secretary General and the Permanent Representatives of the North Atlantic Council visited the city of Gori, in order to receive first hand information about the impact of the August conflict and look at some of the challenges ahead for Georgia.

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North Atlantic Council in Georgia

On the second day of the visit to Georgia, the Permanent Representatives of the North Atlantic Council and the NATO Secretary General held a meeting with members of the Georgian Parliament and discussed Georgia's progress in democratic reforms and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

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NATO and Kazakhstan hold peacekeeping exercise

The joint peacekeeping exercise "Steppe Eagle 2008" was held near Almaty from 15 to 27 September with the participation of troops from the United States and UK. The annual drill is meant to improve the commanders’ coordination skills and to evaluate the readiness of the Kazakh peacekeeping units to take part in NATO-led operations.

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Israeli Opinion Leaders visit NATO HQ

On 15 September 2008, NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division organized, in the context of the public diplomacy activities for the Mediterranean Dialogue, a visit to NATO Headquarters of high level opinion leaders from Israel.

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North Atlantic Council holds the first session of the NATO-Georgia Commission

The North Atlantic Council  held the inaugural session of the NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) on 15 September. The NGC was formally established with the signature of the framework document by the NATO Secretary General and Georgian Prime Minister Vladimer Gurgenidze.

North Atlantic Council arrives in Georgia

The NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the Permanent Representatives of the North Atlantic Council arrived in Tbilisi for a two-day visit in the Georgian capital.

Ceremony in Tbilisi marks start of Trust Fund project to dismantle missiles stockpile

Permanent Representatives of several NATO nations assisting Georgia in the destruction of rockets and missiles stockpiles celebrated in Tbilisi the beginning of the implementation of a Trust Fund for this purpose on 15 September.

NATO’s Chiefs of Defence conclude their conference in Sofia

Chiefs of Defence from the 26 NATO member nations, along with Albania and Croatia on their way to full membership, and the two NATO Strategic Commanders, wrapped up two days of discussions and seminars here today.

NATO Secretary General holds talks in Latvia

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer paid a bilateral visit to Latvia on 12 September. He met first with the Foreign Ministers of the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), and then with the President of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers.

NATO Deputy Secretary General visits Kazakhstan

The Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Ambassador Claudio Bisognero, visited the Kazakh capital Astana on Thursday, 11 September. He met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Marat Tazhin, Defence Minister Daniyal Akhmetov and other senior government officials and discussed a range of issues relevant both to NATO and Kazakhstan.

Transatlantic public opinion survey shows support for NATO rising

Support for NATO is on the rise according to the latest annual Transatlantic Trends survey released by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Some 57 per cent of Europeans agreed that NATO is essential to their country’s security, up four percentage points since last year.

NATO-Georgia consultations

On Thursday, 11 September 2008, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) held a meeting with Ambassador Beshidze of Georgia. This session followed an ambassadorial meeting of NATO-Georgia held at NATO HQ on 12 August.

NATO commemorates 9/11

Seven years after the events of September 11, NATO will pay tribute to all victims of terrorist attacks around the world during a commemorative ceremony. One minute of silence will be observed throughout NATO Headquarters and the NATO flag as well as the flags of the Alliance’s 26 member countries will be lowered to half-mast.

Multimedia exhibition highlights NATO’s story in Zagreb

“Securing our future”, an interactive exhibition created to illustrate the Alliance’s current operations, capabilities and partnerships, was open to the public from 10 to 19 September in the Zagreb’s Glyptotheque (Croatian Academy of Sciences & Arts).

Discussing Ukraine’s future development

Twenty-eight experts and officials from Ukraine, NATO, and other European countries and international organizations recently led a number of panel discussions on key issues concerning Ukraine’s future development at the 18th Economic Forum, held 10-12 September 2008 in Krynica, Poland. Over five hundred leading European experts, officials, and politicians participated in these discussions on issues related to Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration and related reforms.

NATO ships complete their visit to the Black Sea

The Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG 1) successfully completed its planned visit and is leaving the Black Sea today in accordance with the Montreux Convention which limits Black Sea naval deployments to twenty-one days for non-Black Sea navies.  SNMG 1 will operate in the Mediterranean following its departure from the Black Sea.

Moldovan ministers hold talks at NATO HQ

On Wednesday, 10 September 2008, Mr. Andrei Stratan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and Mr. Vitalie Vrabie, Defence Minister of the Republic of Moldova visited NATO HQ. Following a bilateral meeting with the Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the ministers addressed the North Atlantic Council.

NATO humanitarian support to Georgia

Following a request from Georgia for humanitarian assistance,  NATO has  coordinated the delivery of humanitarian relief items through its Civil Emergency Planning (CEP) procedures. Several urgent requirements needed for the civilian population affected by the armed conflict were identified by the Georgian authorities.

Start of Intensified Dialogue with Bosnia and Herzegovina

A first staff-level meeting was held on 9 September 2008 in NATO’s headquarters to open the Intensified Dialogue with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Georgia and NATO start Air Situation Data Exchange programme

NATO and Georgia finalized the implementation of the Air Situation Data Exchange (ASDE) programme on 26 August 2008 . This programme facilitates the reciprocal and mutually beneficial exchange of air situation information between NATO and Georgia.

Science cooperation supports fight against terrorism

A Science for Peace and Security-sponsored training course on the “Use of force in Countering Terrorism” is taking place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from 8 to 12 September 2008.

Fighting forest fires in Bulgaria

On 6 September 2008, Bulgaria sent to the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) a request for assistance in fighting forest fires.

UN suggests ISAF expands its support to countering narcotics

Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) visited NATO HQ on 3 September. He met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and briefed the North Atlantic Council on the UNODC’s Afghanistan Opium Survey 2008.

No "NATO buildup" in Black Sea, says NATO spokesman

There is no "NATO buildup" in the Black Sea, NATO spokesman said today. If the Russian Federation is looking for a pretext to take some unspecified steps, this is a poor one.

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Audio file of the Spokesman's press briefing

Outgoing KFOR Commander receives NATO medal

French Lieutenant General Xavier Bout de Marnhac recently completed his one-year mandate as Commander of KFOR, the NATO-led force in Kosovo, and was awarded a NATO medal by Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer during a visit to the Alliance’s Headquarters on 3 September 2008.

Afghan and ISAF forces deliver a new turbine to Kajaki Dam

In the early morning hours of September 2, Afghan National Security Forces and the International Security Assistance Force successfully delivered a new turbine to Kajaki Dam in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Croatia hosts NATO exercise

Exercise Cooperative Marlin 2008, a NATO command post exercise involving participants from Allied and Partner countries, took place in Split, Croatia, from 1 to 12 September 2008. The aim was to practice tactical planning for a crisis-response operation.