NATO keen on enhancing ties with Kuwait: Official
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is keen on enhancing ties with Kuwait, particularly after the GCC member country hosted NATO-Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) Regional Centre, an official affirmed Monday.
NATO is well-aware of the major cooperation significance with Kuwait, and it is keen on enhancing and boosting it at all levels, Nicola de Santis, Head of NATO’s Middle East and North Africa Section, saidon the sidelines of the third meeting of the Consultative Group for the ICI.
Since signing the NATO-ICI initiative last February, which also includes the membership of UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, the state of Kuwait, as a member, has been the most effective toward the initiative, especially in practical cooperation and political dialogue areas, de Santis said.
The NATO-ICI Regional Centre will contribute to strengthening ties with GCC member-countries, and facilitate reaching to other non-member countries that showed interest in joining the initiative such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, he noted. The NATO official also mentioned that the Centre would also boost cooperation with GCC Secretari at General as part of its mission in enhancing cooperation with regional and international organizations. Meanwhile, the third meeting of the consultative group for ICI concluded in the Qatari capital after crystalizing a set of security ideas, visions, and proposals. The threats to global security and stability have become common among all members of the international community, Secretary-General of Qatari Foreign Ministry Dr Ahmad AlHammadi said in his speech, adding that this development requires a joint and comprehensive effort to face these threats, in addition to the importance of exchanging expertise and information on regional and international levels.
In the meantime, Qatar’s Ambassador to Belgium Sheikh Ali bin Jassem Al-Thani stressed the importance of exerting joint efforts in order to face the security threats and dangers targeting the international community, noting that the NATO-ICI Initiative had a clear role in strengthening ties with NATO, and impact on securing stability and security in the region.
Kuwait’s delegation to the meeting is headed by the country’s Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and head of its missions to NATO and the European Union (EU) Jassem Al-Bedaiwi. The delegation also includes head of the Kuwaiti National Security Apparatus’ security information and follow-up department Sheikh Fawaz Mishaal Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah.