NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for stronger, more strategic and results-orientated partnerships with countries in the Gulf region during an event in the margins of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday (25 September 2024). Hosted by the Crown Prince of Kuwait, his Highness Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah, the event celebrated 20 years of NATO-Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI). It brought together NATO’s four ICI partners (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) as well as Saudi Arabia, Oman and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Mr. Stoltenberg thanked the Crown Prince for hosting the anniversary event and reaffirmed the importance of the NATO-ICI partnership as a platform for cooperation, highlighting its evolution and achievements. The Secretary General underlined areas of close cooperation between NATO and the ICI partners – including cyber defence, security sector reform, climate change, energy security, maritime security, and the protection of critical infrastructure. “During these two decades, our cooperation has grown from strength to strength”, he said, praising the Gulf partners’ contributions and participation.
Mr. Stoltenberg emphasized that, when faced with “a deeply deteriorated security environment, we see more than ever that our security is not regional, but global”, closer cooperation with partners in the Gulf and wider Middle East region is a necessary step. He outlined the decisions taken by Allies at the Washington Summit in July 2024 to increase NATO’s engagement in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel. Referring to Javier Colomina’s appointment as the new Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, the Secretary General stated that it is “the first time the Alliance has a dedicated focal point for this work”. He also referred to the upcoming opening of the NATO Liaison Office in Jordan, the broadened scope of the training mission in Iraq, the NATO-Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Regional Centre in Kuwait and the Hub for the South in Naples, which provide “an even stronger basis on which to take our partnerships forward”, said the Secretary General.
The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was launched in 2004 and provides a partnership forum for practical cooperation and political dialogue between NATO and partner countries in the Gulf region. Four countries, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, have joined the initiative, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The NATO-Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Regional Centre in Kuwait (NIRC) opened in 2017 and helps strengthen political dialogue, education and training, and public diplomacy. The centre was inaugurated in 2017 by Secretary General Stoltenberg, marking NATO’s first such presence in the Gulf region.
