Speech by NATO Secretary General at the
University of Chisinau
Chisinau, Moldova – 30 October 2008
Ambassadors,
Ladies and
Gentlemen,
Dear
Students,
I am pleased to be back in Chisinau today. I was here relatively early on during my
tenure as NATO Secretary General, and I have been looking forward to coming
back. Thank you, Dr. Ciocanu, for
welcoming me to Chisinau University, and thank you all for
attending.
The NATO Alliance that I have the privilege to represent will turn 60
next year. Most people will try to
slow down a bit when they approach that age. But NATO is busier than ever. As many as 50,000 of our soldiers are
deployed in Afghanistan alone, to provide security so that
development and democracy can flourish.
But we are also keeping the peace in Kosovo. NATO ships are patrolling the
Mediterranean in an naval anti-terrorist mission. And, off the coast of
Somalia, we have just recently started to escort
World Food Program vessels and to help protect international shipping against
acts of piracy.
At the same time, the Alliance is also making its unique capabilities
and experience available in other areas.
We are assisting defence reform in
Bosnia and
Herzegovina. We are
training Iraqi and Afghan security forces.
We are assisting the African Union, including with airlifts to
Somalia and AU forces in and out of
Darfur. And we
have played a role in some major disaster response and humanitarian relief
operations, including after the floods which hit
Moldova this summer.
But even as NATO focuses on challenges far away from our own borders,
we are not forgetting that there are unresolved issues closer to home.
It has been and remains a
longstanding objective of the Alliance to help create a European continent that
is whole, free and at peace – by reaching out to countries all across our
continent, offering them assistance and encouragement, and helping them to find
their own place in a peaceful, democratic Europe.
Moldova deserves its place in a peaceful and
democratic Europe.
Moldova has a clear european
vocation.
In the Balkans, that commitment is clearly bearing fruit. With NATO’s help, all the countries in
the region are now finding their rightful place among the European family of
nations. Several have joined the
Alliance and the European Union already, while
others have made good progress in that direction.
Elsewhere in Europe, however, several countries find it harder to break
with the past and to chart their own future – not least because others try to
decide that future for them.
Georgia is a case in point. NATO has stood by
Georgia through the crisis in August. We have supported the settlement
negotiated by the European Union Presidency - I commend the French European
Presidency for that - with the Georgian and Russian Presidents and will continue
to urge its full implementation. We
will continue to urge respect for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity. And we will continue to
support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic
aspirations.
Like Georgia, your neighbour
Ukraine has strong Euro-Atlantic aspirations as
well, which NATO also supports.
That is why we continue to engage in political dialogue with
Ukraine, and to assist the implementation of
difficult reforms, in particular the modernisation of its defence
structures.
Having said this, NATO is keen to assist and cooperate with all
countries in Europe, and to pursue an active political dialogue with
each, regardless of whether they wish or do not wish to join the
Alliance.
And this very much applies to the Republic of Moldova as well.
We understand, of course, and respect, of course, the importance of
Moldova’s constitutional neutrality. As a matter of fact, NATO has several
neutral countries among its most active Partner nations – including
Switzerland and
Sweden.
And I am very glad that our
political dialogue and practical cooperation with
Moldova has increased as well these last few
years, especially since your country concluded a first Individual Partnership
Action Plan – or IPAP – with NATO back in 2006.
Much of our cooperation is focused on the reform of
Moldova’s defence establishment – to make it more
effective, accountable and relevant to 21st century
requirements. The adoption of a
National Security Concept earlier this year was a major step forward. We hope that it will be followed soon by
several additional documents to guide the reform process further, such as a
Strategic Defence Review and a National Military
Strategy.
It will be important to keep the reform process going, to continue with
the elaboration of these documents, to work on a new IPAP, and to build on the
progress that has already been achieved – including in reforming your Military
Institute and strengthening the Peacekeeping Training Centre. And so I sincerely hope for continued
political support – before and after next year’s elections – to drive the
process forward.
Let me add that this will not only be in your own national interest, but
also help to boost security more broadly.
Moldova’s commitment of five helicopters to the
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan shows that even relatively small nations
can help to provide security well beyond their own region. And
Moldova is to be commended for that
contribution.
NATO’s expertise is not limited to hard, military matters, and neither is
our cooperation with Moldova.
For example, we helped to coordinate assistance from a number of Allied
and Partner nations following the floods which struck your country this past
summer. Several NATO nations and
agencies work together with the OSCE to repackage and destroy stocks of
hazardous chemicals and fertilizers, so they do not harm your environment. And we have cooperated on the
establishment of the NATO Information Centre here at the
University of Chisinau, to promote the dissemination of
information and improve understanding about NATO and what it
does.
In addition to our practical cooperation, NATO and
Moldova have also engaged in closer political
dialogue. President Voronin and
Moldovan Government Ministers have come to NATO meetings and our Headquarters in
Brussels several times. My Special Representative, Ambassador
Simmons, has also maintained a continuous and active dialogue, that I was able
to build upon in my own talks here today with the President, Minister of Foreign
Affairs and Minister of Defence.
And I hope that political engagement will continue after the elections
next year, because it is vital to a further deepening and broadening of our
partnership.
Regrettably, the unresolved issue of Transnistria continues to cast a
shadow over the future of your country.
And it is on that issue, as well, that continued high-level political
engagement will be vital, by all the different parties
concerned.
The NATO Allies have always expressed their support for the territorial
integrity, independence and sovereignty of the
Republic of Moldova on a number of occasions. But the mandate and expertise to try and
resolve the Transnistria issue rests with the OSCE and those involved in the 5+2
negotiation process, not with NATO.
I will say that the Government of Moldova is to be commended for its
strong commitment to a peaceful resolution of the issue, and its pragmatic
attempts to put new ideas on the table.
And we also appreciate its consistent position regarding the Adapted
Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, which is crucial to maintaining military
transparency and predictability throughout our
continent.
Ladies and
Gentlemen,
Dear
Friends,
The NATO Alliance that I represent is changing fast. We are responding to a range of new
security challenges. And we are
reaching out to engage other nations and institutions in a comprehensive
approach to those challenges.
At the same time, we are not losing sight of challenges closer to
home.
We remain determined to
contribute to the creation of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace. And we want
Moldova to find its rightful place right at the
heart of that Europe.
You are the future of Moldova.
You students, the younger generation, are the future of
Moldova.
Your generation has most to gain from the path of democracy, reform and
integration. And so I hope that you
– as well – will play your full part in keeping your country on that path, and
heading towards a better future.
I would like to answer your questions and engage in a debate with you,
students, here today.
Thank you.