MEETING OF THE NORTH
ATLANTIC COUNCIL
IN FOREIGN MINISTERIAL
SESSION
26 JANUARY
2007
OPENING STATEMENT BY THE
SECRETARY GENERAL
Ministers,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very good morning
to you all and a warm welcome to this informal meeting of the North Atlantic
Council at Foreign Ministers level.
In Riga, Allied Heads
of State and Government re-affirmed their strong commitment to NATO’s
operations, most importantly those in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Today’s meeting will reinforce this
commitment.
We will discuss how
to orchestrate a comprehensive approach, one that brings together civilian and
military instruments in a coordinated and effective way.
Afghanistan, NATO’s top priority is about building
schools, roads and democratic institutions, but it is also about conducting
military operations to support the elected Afghan Government and allow
reconstruction to go forward. To achieve results, the International Community
needs to provide both the necessary military and civilian
resources.
2007 will be an
important year.
I am pleased that
following our discussion in this NAC format, we will also discuss how to achieve
a truly comprehensive approach with ISAF troop contributing nations, the UN, EU
and World Bank and the important donors Japan and the Republic of Korea.
This morning, we will
also discuss Kosovo. Today,
President Ahtisaari is presenting his way forward on the status process – a
process entering a decisive phase.
This morning, we will discuss the way forward, and how NATO can best
continue to play its crucial role in underpinning the political
process.
Nous allons examiner comment l’OTAN peut aider au mieux àmettre en œuvre
un futur réglement sur le statut de la province, en particulier dans le domaine
de la sécurité.
Compte tenu des rôles fondamentaux que l'OTAN et l'UE joueront dans le
scénario post-règlement, il nous faudra veiller àce que la coopération
politique entre nos deux organisations soit sans faille, notamment pendant la
délicate phase de transition et après.
Notre réunion d’aujourd’hui devrait encore une fois démontrer que l’OTAN
est une Alliance qui agit, une Alliance qui emploie de nouveaux moyens pour
projeter la sécurité et la stabilité dans la zone euro-atlantique et
au-delà.