Nato opens Kuwait base for closer ties with Gulf

KUWAIT CITY // Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg yesterday called for greater security cooperation with the Gulf states as the western military alliance opened its first office in the region.

“It will be a vital hub for cooperation between the alliance and our Gulf partners,” Mr Stoltenberg said at the centre’s inauguration in Kuwait, attended by prime minister Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah.

The centre is based on the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, launched by Nato leaders in 2004 to boost security links with the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Gulf. The UAE Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are members of ICI, while Saudi Arabia and Oman plan to join. Kuwaiti foreign minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Sabah said the region was facing serious challenges that required international cooperation. “We face common security threats like terrorism, weapons proliferation and cyber attacks,” Mr Stoltenberg said. “And we share the same aspirations for peace and for stability, so it is essential that we work more closely together than ever.

“We have developed individual cooperation programmes with all our Gulf partners.”

He said that over the past year, Nato had trained hundreds of Iraqi officers in Jordan to better fight the ISIL extremist group. “We are now extending our training and capacity-building efforts into Iraq itself.”

The centre will strengthen the military- to- military cooperation and the fight against terrorism and extremism, he said.

Also yesterday, Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir said the kingdom would work with the Trump administration to contain Iran and strengthen ties.

He said US president Donald Trump had “spoken about containing Iran and making sure that Iran abides to the nuclear agreement that was signed. This is exactly our position”.