(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) By Nawab Khan BRUSSELS, July 3 (KUNA) -- The upcoming NATO summit in the Polish capital Warsaw will discuss how the Alliance can boost cooperation with partner nations in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and also debate developments in the Middle East, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday.
"I expect that discussions on the Middle East and North Africa will feature high at the Warsaw Summit," he told the Kuwait news agency (KUNA) in an interview.
"We will discuss the efforts underway with our partners in the Mediterranean Dialogue and in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) to enhance the capacity of their defence forces and institutions, including through tailored Individual Partnership Cooperation Program," stated the NATO chief. The ICI includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. "In Warsaw, we will also discuss how we can further enhance our ability to project stability to the South. We want to build on our regional partnerships and capacity building efforts. In coordination with the wider international community, so that we are ready to respond rapidly and effectively to further requests for assistance," he said.
Leaders of the 28-member Alliance will meet in a crucial summit in Warsaw next Friday and Saturday.
Stoltenberg said the summit will review NATO''s training and defence capacity building activities with Tunisia, Jordan and Iraq.
There will also be at the sidelines of the summit a Defence Ministers meeting with partner countries taking part in NATO''s Interoperability Platform initiative, which will include Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, he said.
Stoltenberg stressed that "Jordan is one of NATO''s most active and effective partners and a valuable partner for NATO in projecting international security and stability," noting that Jordan has also made important contributions to NATO operations, including in Afghanistan and Libya.
He noted that King of Jordan Abdullah II has been invited to the summit together with the Presidents of the EU Council and the EU Commission among others to participate in a meeting on NATO efforts to project stability to NATO''s Southern neighborhood. .
He said Jordan''s contribution has been essential to NATO''s Defence Capacity building assistance efforts for Iraq.
"We will continue to support Jordan in the fight against terrorism," stressed the NATO chief.
Following a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Abadi, NATO agreed last year in July on a Defence Capacity Building Package for Iraq.
"The most immediate priority areas are countering improvised explosive devices, military medicine and civil military planning. The Defence Capacity Building Package for Iraq also includes assistance measures in the areas of explosive ordnance disposal and demining, advice on security sector reform, on civil emergency preparedness, cyber defence and military training," Stoltenberg told KUNA.
Training for Iraqi officers is currently being provided at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre in Jordan. The first phase of training was launched in April 2016, with 350 Iraqi officers being trained with a train-the-trainer approach, he noted.
NATO Allies are currently considering a new request by Prime Minister Al-Abadi for training and capacity building effort inside Iraq. A NATO team visited Iraq early June, and agreement on a specific recommendation is expected at the Warsaw Summit next week. This will complement the training that is already taking place in Jordan, said the NATO Secretary General.
On Libya, he said NATO IS in direct contact with the new Libyan government and that he recently spoke to Libyan Prime Minister Al-Sarraj.
"We are continuing our preparatory work with a view to helping build Libya''s defence and security institutions. We are looking into how NATO can provide support, if so requested by the new government. And as part of the UN-led efforts," he added. (end) nk.gta