Issues
NATO – Arab World
An interview with Alberto Bin, Head of Regional Affairs and Mediterranean Dialogue, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division at NATO
The MD (Mediterranean Dialogue) and ICI (Istanbul Cooperation Initiative) highlight NATO's concerns with security issues and challenges stemming from the Mediterranean and the Middle Eastern region. At the practical level, how effective is NATO's collaboration with participating countries? What role more in general can it envisage to play in the Middle East?
NATO is developing closer security partnerships with countries in the Mediterranean and the broader Middle East. Cooperation includes regular political consultations including at high-level and practical activities in the fields of interoperability, defence reform and the fight against terrorism. This marks a shift in Alliance priorities towards greater involvement in these strategically important regions of the world, whose security and stability is closely linked to Euro-Atlantic security. The Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and NATO’s training mission in Iraq are three major elements of the Alliance’s current engagement in the Middle East. They demonstrate that NATO is involved in the region and that all the Allies realise that they have a stake in its future.
How is NATO perceived by Arab society at large? And how is it perceived by Arab governments? Are there substantial differences in perception? And from country to country?
A key objective of NATO’s partnerships with countries in the Mediterranean and the broader Middle East is to dispel possible misconceptions about the Alliance among the governments and public opinions of these countries. In order to tackle these misconceptions, NATO has undertaken an important public diplomacy effort targeting especially the media, the academic world. And other representatives of the civil society in all MD and ICI countries without distinction.
How is NATO responding to reform in the Middle East? How far is it concerned with it?
NATO’s initiatives for the Mediterranean and the broader Middle East focus primarily on defence and security issues. As such, they complement other international efforts including those specifically aimed at promoting reform in these regions such as the EU’s and the G-8’s.
How far do economic and political differences among the countries participating in the MD and ICI influence NATO's programmes? Do they hinder collaboration?
Like other international efforts in the region, unresolved regional conflicts and disputes, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, may affect NATO’s cooperation initiatives.
How are MD and ICI related?
The MD and ICI are distinct yet complementary initiatives. They are part and parcel of NATO’s post-Cold War cooperative strategy aimed at establishing close partnership ties with interested countries in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond. The MD is a 10-year-old initiative targeting the countries of the Mediterranean region and includes both a bilateral and a multilateral dimension. The ICI is a newly established cooperative framework for interested countries in the broader Middle East region, starting with the countries of the Gulf, and focuses primarily on bilateral cooperation. Both the MD and ICI are progressive initiatives in terms of participation and content, and are meant to promote dialogue and cooperation based on the principle of joint ownership.
Regional security and stability require collaboration and 'agreement' among countries. Are there problems in this respect in the Arab world which reflect on NATO's activities?
As already stated above, unresolved regional conflicts and disputes may affect NATO’s cooperation initiatives.
Considering NATO's security concerns and given the destabilising situations in Palestine and Iraq in particular, how effective can MD and ICI be?
Although NATO is not involved in the Middle East Peace Process and is not seeking a political role in Iraq, both the MD and the ICI are meant to foster cooperative relations in the region with a view to contributing to regional security and stability.
How effective/helpful/relevant are NATO's activities for MD and ICI participating countries?
MD countries’ participation in NATO’s activities has regularly and substantially increased since the establishment of the MD in 1994. Levels of participation and areas of interest vary from country to country, depending on their own interests and priorities. In 2004, for instance, more than 1,000 civilian and military representatives from all the seven MD countries participated in activities included in the annual MD Work Programme. This compares with less than 100 participants in the first MD Work Programme established in 1997. At least three MD countries have participated in NATO-led operations in the Balkans. Some of them recently participated in NATO/PfP military exercises and three of them have expressed interest in participating in NATO-led, non-article 5, counter-terrorist maritime operation in the Mediterranean code-named “Operation Active Endeavour”.
It is too early to assess the relevance of ICI to participating countries, although their initial responses to NATO’s offer of cooperation indicate a clear interest in a number of priority areas such as interoperability, border security and the fight against terrorism.
-- Alberto Bin
Head of Regional Affairs and Mediterranean Dialogue, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division at NATO
Information gathered by Chiara Sulmoni, Research Assistant
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- Origin CERMAM
- http://www.cermam.org/en/logs/dossier/nato_arab_world/
- Publié le 23 February 2007