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Q: On the 16th of October, the Division of Public Diplomacy is holding a conference on Securing Peace: NATO's Role in Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution.
Do you think the general public actually understands the importance of what NATO is doing in this area?
Fournet: Clearly, no. You know there is a general lack of understanding about what NATO is doing oin these topics, and more generally, sometimes. This is why we have created the Public Diplomacy Division. This is not the purpose of the interview today, but I would like to come back one day for a new video.
But this is why, also, we have decided to hold this conference. And this is why we have also decided to host it with the support, the co-sponsorship, of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and also of the Geneva Democratic Centre for the Control of Armed Forces.
Q: NATO already has a relatively long experience of peacekeeping in the Balkans. In Bosnia, since 1995, in Kosovo, since 1999, and it has only recently handed over the responsibility for its mission in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the European Union.
Do you think it can export this experience to Afghanistan or to future peacekeeping operations in other regions?
Fournet: Well you know, there is always a lot to gain from experience. And obviously, this last decade, NATO has gained a lot of experience. If you look at the structure of our program, of our conference, as been proposed, with a lot of panel discussion, I want to give you a highlight of these different issues.
For instance, we have a panel discussion on Lessons of NATO Involvement in the Balkans: Civilian Reconstruction and Political Institution. We have another one on the same major headline, and sub-headlined Military Stability and Security Sector Reform. Then we have a panel discussion on Role of Public Diplomacy in Building Local and International Support, and a final one, on NATO's Future Agenda in Afghanistan and Other Regional Countries. You understand that this is precisely intended to answer your main concern, your main question.
However I would also want to say that for this, we have asked many distinguished and well-experienced people to come to this conference, which I think is not only interesting, but also timely.
I don't want to give the list of everybody. You will find the program on the web, when you look at it. But just to highlight, there will be Carl Bildt, there will be of course Lord Robertson, there will be Gareth Evans, there will be Pierre Lellouche, there will be many other speakers, including some from the IS, International Staff, and myself, of course.
Q: At its meeting of Foreign Ministers in Reykjavik in May 2002, NATO decided that you will operate when and where necessary to fight international terrorism. Does this mean that NATO will gradually become the military arm of the United Nations?
Fournet: I think you are maybe running too fast. But to me, it seems that there is an underlying, very positive point in your suggestion or in your question, which is now it seems that when it comes to security, when it comes to new threats and challenges, NATO is obviously no longer questioned about its relevance. NATO is the security organization to address the key issues of the day.
Q: And just one last question now. Crisis management and conflict resolution are burning issues, with more and more multinational peacekeeping forces currently operating in countries across the globe.
Last year, the Division of Public Diplomacy focused on Prague 2002: Challenges and Change for NATO, which was also a key issue at the time. Can you take out your crystal ball and tell us what the theme of next year's conference will be?
Fournet: Of course I can take it. Of course I could tell you what I have in mind, though it is still now slightly blurred. But I won't do so. I won't do so because I want to maintain a certain suspense, and also because I would like you to open this website as frequently as possible. Because you know, there is always something to learn on http://www.nato.int.
Q: Thank you very much, indeed, Mr. Fournet.