SECRETARY GENERALÂ’S SPEECH AT THE
NATO-KUWAIT PUBLIC DIPLOMACY CONFERENCE
KUWAIT CITY -- 12 DECEMBER 2006
Your Highnesses,
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me
start by expressing my sincere gratitude to you, Prime Minister, and the
entire Government of Kuwait, for your initiative in organising this
conference. It is another important step on the way to closer
cooperation between NATO and the countries from the Gulf region. And the
fact that the North Atlantic Council, NATOÂ’s senior political body, is
here today, in the first country that joined the Istanbul Cooperation
Initiative, underscores the importance that we all attach to this
cooperation.
Indeed,
“cooperation” may well be the central theme of our age. In a world
that is characterised by the effects of globalisation positive
and negative effects cooperation is the only sensible way to
safeguard our security. That is why we welcome the efforts made
here in this region to bolster cooperation, and why we all followed with
interest the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh just a few days
ago.
NATO, as
well, has taken the logic of cooperation to heart. This Alliance came
about 57 years ago, in very different circumstances from todayÂ’s.
NATO at the time had to address the specific security challenges of a
divided Europe. That past is long gone. And just as the Cold War has long
since disappeared, so has the old, Cold War-style NATO
Alliance.
Today,
security cooperation in NATO between North America and an
increasingly undivided Europe has acquired a fundamentally
different character. Of course, collective defence and solidarity
amongst Allies remain at the heart of NATOÂ’s purpose. But, we are no
longer concerned with the defence of Europe against the threat of a
massive invasion by thousands of tanks. Instead, cooperation in
NATO today is all about finding new answers to new
challenges terrorism, the proliferation of Weapons of Mass
Destruction, and states that collapse into anarchy into ungoverned
spaces that provide a safe haven for terrorist training camps or the
international narcotics trade.
What, in
concrete terms, distinguishes this new NATO from the old? Three
points stand out.
The first
and perhaps most fundamental aspect of NATO today is the way we look at
security. In a nutshell, we have realised that a territorial
understanding of security is simply too narrow in an age of global
threats. Rather than wait for the challenges to come to us, we must
be prepared to meet the challenges where they emerge even if that
may mean deploying far away from our traditional European
perimeter.
And so,
today, NATO has more than 50,000 troops deployed in several different,
demanding missions on three continents, nearly all of them under United
Nations mandate. In Europe, NATO is keeping the peace in the
Balkans, notably in Kosovo. In the Mediterranean, in our Operation
Active Endeavour, NATO is conducting naval anti-terrorist patrols.
In Afghanistan, NATO is leading the International Security Assistance
Force, a mission that ranges from peacekeeping to combat
operations. In Iraq, NATO is training Iraqi security forces.
In Pakistan, after last yearÂ’s earthquake, NATO provided humanitarian
relief. And in Africa, NATO is assisting the African Union with its
peacekeeping mission in Darfur.
Let me
emphasise that not one of these missions is about territorial defence or
about achieving military victory in the traditional sense. And
neither does NATO wish to play the role of a global policeman, standing
ready to solve problems all over the world. But we do realise that,
in order to promote stability and security in the wider world, NATO must
take a much more active role not imposing itself, but working
closely together with other nations and organisations.
That leads
me to the second key characteristic of todayÂ’s NATO, our closer
relationship with other institutions. Afghanistan is a case in
point. Success in Afghanistan is not dependent on NATO alone.
Security and development must go hand in hand. Reconstruction and
development have almost had to start from scratch; a whole new political
process has to be created; fighting and nation building have to be
carried out in parallel; and regional neighbours must be engaged.
NATO has to do what NATO does best and that is providing security. We can
help with the reconstruction and development but the main part has to be
done by others.
So, in
Afghanistan and elsewhere, NATO today is not acting alone. It is
increasingly part of a broader international effort, acting in concert
with other major institutions such as the United Nations, the European
Union, and the World Bank. And, of course, we work in close
partnership with the governments in charge. Again, this kind of
cooperation is the only feasible approach to safeguard our security in a
globalised world.
The third
characteristic of NATO today is partnership. Promoting security and
projecting stability are tasks far too great even for an Alliance of 26
member states. We need the support of other countries
countries that share our security concerns and that are willing to engage
with us in managing common challenges. At present, 18 partner
countries have forces under NATO command. This requires specific
mechanisms for coordination and cooperation with these countries.
But it also requires mechanisms to foster transparency and build
confidence.
For all of
these reasons, enhancing cooperation between NATO and the Gulf countries
was as logical at is was timely. We face the same threats
terrorism, nuclear proliferation, failed states. We all have a
vital strategic interest in a stable Iraq and a stable broader Middle
East region. We all share a common interest in energy security,
whether we are suppliers or consumers.
And there
is more. Some of NATOÂ’s operations and missions are taking place in
your neighbourhood. I mentioned our ISAF operation in Afghanistan, our
training mission in Iraq and our humanitarian relief support in
Pakistan. And we very much appreciate the various types of
assistance you have given us with respect to these operations and
missions. So it has become all the more important that we exchange
views on how we see the security situation evolving. We very much
value the unique regional expertise that you can offer.
All these
factors underscore why a dedicated structure for our dialogue and
cooperation has become a true strategic necessity. About 10 years
ago, we made the first step, when we launched the Mediterranean
Dialogue. The aim was to put NATOÂ’s relationship with the countries
of Northern Africa and the Middle East on a new footing. And two
years ago, after ample consultations with the countries here in this
region, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative extended our offer of
partnership to interested Gulf states.
The
Mediterranean Dialogue and the ICI have essentially the same objective:
to enhance mutual understanding, build transparency, and engage in
concrete cooperation on issues of mutual interest. Today, we can
say that all these goals are being realised. The ICI has got off to
a good start. Four Gulf countries have joined the Initiative
already, and we hope that other countries may join at a later
stage. Our political contacts have increased, and so has our
practical cooperation, ranging from intelligence sharing, through
military interoperability to civil emergency planning.
The
challenge now is to maintain this initial momentum that we have
generated. And here I dare to say that the opportunities to do so
are better than ever. Just two weeks ago, at the NATO Summit in
Riga, our Heads of State and Government decided to enhance all of NATOÂ’s
partnership mechanisms. This will offer a range of new
opportunities for our relationship. This new phase of cooperation
has three new elements:
First,
there will be new opportunities for political dialogue and consultation
between the NATO Allies and one or more Mediterranean Dialogue or ICI
partners. This will give more political substance to both
frameworks, and make them more responsive to unfolding events.
Second,
our Mediterranean Dialogue and ICI partners will now be able to benefit
from the menu of the partnership tools activities that, until now, were
only available to members of our more elaborate Partnership for Peace
framework. This will further increase the depth of our
cooperation.
Thirdly,
and perhaps most importantly, we launched the so-called NATO Training
Cooperation Initiative. Through almost six decades of military
cooperation among Allies, NATO has acquired a wealth of experience in
training and education. By sharing this experience with our
partners from the Mediterranean and the Gulf region, we will make another
step towards the “human interoperability” that is so crucially
important for the success of future joint missions, as well as for
our day to day cooperation.
In
implementing the new opportunities for cooperation, we will continue to
work very closely with our partners here in the region. We believe
that joint ownership among equal partners remains a key principle of our
cooperation. We also believe that cooperation is a two way street;
that we should not duplicate the efforts of others; and that nothing
should be imposed on anyone. All these principles have served us
well and they will continue to guide us in our efforts to fully
exploit the new opportunities that we now have in front of us.
But I also
believe that we need more transparency vis-Ã -vis our publics. It
may be a fact of life that in most of our countries, security policy does
not attract too much public interest. But that said, security
policy without a public diplomacy dimension would be far less
effective. We need to involve civil society at large elite
audiences as well as the interested non-expert. We need to explain
the logic of our cooperation, and what our overall aims are. In
other words, we need to bring our publics along. This is a joint
responsibility of NATO members and partners. And this conference
demonstrates that we take this responsibility very seriously.
Your Highnesses,
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Never has
cooperation been more important than today. In a world of
globalised threats, we need a globalised response. But in order to
craft such a response, we first need to better understand each other and
the world around us. To exchange views. To generate new
ideas. And then turn them into far-sighted policies.
How?
By thinking and organising ourselves differently than we did in the
past. By saying goodbye to the outdated security paradigms of
yesterday. And, above all, by exploring new approaches of security
cooperation and reaching out beyond geographical, cultural or
religious boundaries.
The
partnership that is now emerging between NATO and the Gulf region gives
us the right framework to do all this. If we sustain the momentum
of this cooperation, it can be a major strategic tool for helping us to
meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Our meeting here today
is another welcome opportunity to make our relationship better known,
more substantive and valuable.
Thank
you.