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I am honoured to have the opportunity to make my first visit as Secretary General to SHAPE, and especially to meet with all of you. My goal is to establish with you a close working relationship in the months and years ahead. Of course, I have already been fortunate to establish such a close relationship with SACEUR. But I believe that it is important for the political and military authorities of this Alliance to work together at all levels. This is especially important here at SHAPE which is, after all, the place where so many of the political decisions made in Brussels are put into practice. As of lately, I am sure you would agree with me that there has been no shortage of such decisions.
Indeed, I am particularly aware that NATO's involvement in the international efforts to bring peace to Bosnia has put extraordinarily heavy demands on SHAPE and its staff. This has been the case for three years already, but the creation and deployment of IFOR have heightened these demands still further. And you are also implementing an ever-expanding Partnership for Peace programme, developing the CJTF concept, and, last but not least, planning and organising the Alliance's core function of collective defence.
I wish I could promise you relief, but I am afraid that your workload is only likely to grow heavier in the months ahead. However, I have not the slightest doubt that you will master all the tasks and challenges with your well-known
professionalism. Having just returned from a visit with SACEUR to Bosnia, I can say without hesitation that IFOR is not only a success, but it is also a resounding confirmation of NATO's unique military structures and planning capacity. These structures have demonstrated the remarkable flexibility of our organisation to take on new crisis management missions with the end of the Cold War. Without the decades of cooperation and coordination and the firmly ingrained habits of operating under a single command, here at SHAPE, an operation of the complexity and magnitude of IFOR would have been inconceivable.
And so, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to salute you, both for the great work you have done and the great work I know you will continue to do. Thanks to your dedicated efforts, Partnership for Peace has already become the most successful and far-reaching military cooperation programme ever
conceived. In the weeks and months to come, you will have to continue developing PfP and help prepare for the enlargement of this Alliance, as well as contribute to the ongoing transformation of its structures and procedures. I am counting on your efforts, and I know you are up to the job. As SACEUR
likes to say, we are truly one team and one mission - and I am very proud to have become a member of your team.