From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Gulf News: I see a number of opportunities to bring fresh momentum, scope and substance to our partnership in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.
First of all, I hope that we can intensify our political consultations. There are many security issues of common concern. By discussing them more regularly and openly — both on a bilateral and a multilateral basis — we can develop a common understanding and promote common solutions.
We should also enhance our practical cooperation. Nato plans to fully open its tool-box of cooperation activities to all its partners. That will give our ICI partners a range of interesting new opportunities in areas such as military-to-military cooperation, intelligence sharing and border security.
We can also do more together on energy security. With 50 per cent of the world’s energy supplies transiting through the Gulf region, this is an obvious shared interest. The Alliance stands ready to work together with its ICI partners to identify the best and most efficient ways to develop projects in this area.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a real and growing threat to all of us. We know that it is of particular concern to our ICI partners, and we are open to holding discussions with them on this issue to explore more focused and practical cooperation. …
Given the increasingly complex security threats of the 21st century, I believe there is every reason for Nato and its ICI partners to deepen our partnership.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the Secretary General of NATO. (photo: Reuters)
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