On August 28, the Atlantic Council and NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) hosted an off-the-record roundtable discussion.

This event built on the Atlantic Council’s previous initiatives with NATO ACT on a broad range of partnership issues. It focused on NATO and the Asia-Pacific against the backdrop of a global power shift toward Asia. Discussions touched upon the challenges to overcome within NATO to tackle the question of partnerships in Asia-Pacific; and included inputs from NATO headquarters, as well as from representatives from members and partners of the Alliance.

 In 2012 and 2013, NATO issued Joint Political Declarations with Australia and Japan, underscoring the growing importance of Asia-Pacific partners for the Alliance. As NATO draws down from its military presence in South Asia and security dynamics in Asia continue to evolve, NATO’s regional partners will become increasingly important components of the Alliance’s global engagement.

ACT is NATO’s leading agent for change, driving, facilitating, and advocating continuous improvement of Alliance capabilities to maintain and enhance the military relevance and effectiveness of the Alliance. It provides appropriate support to NATO missions and operations, leads NATO military transformation, and aims at improving relationships, interaction and practical cooperation with partners, nations and international organizations.