(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA))
BRUSSELS, May 31 (KUNA) -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Monday underlined the importance of the 30-member Alliance's partnership with Kuwait and on the importance of the NATO- Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) regional centre hosted by Kuwait.
"We have a close partnership with Kuwait and some of the Gulf countries. We have a NATO training centre in Kuwait and I had the honour of inaugurating that centre some years ago and also been able to come back and see all the activities taking place there of importance for the region and for NATO and NATO partners," he told an online press conference in Brussels ahead of virtual meetings of NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers on Tuesday.
In reply to a question by the Kuwait news agency KUNA, he said the NATO 2030 agenda will be at the heart of the NATO summit to be held in Brussels on 14 June.
"We also focus on importance of partnerships. Working with partners to help stabilize our neighbourhood realising that when our neighbourhood is stable we are more secure," he said.
"How we can strengthen our partnerships also with the countries in the Middle East region and also to add training and capacity will be the part of discussions and decisions at the NATO summit later on this month," announced the NATO chief.
"Jordan is a close and highly valued partner. We work together. We have the Mediterranean Dialogue which encompasses many countries in the Middle East region," he said.
"And then we have the training mission in Iraq to train the Iraqi security forces, help to build security institutions to prevent the return of ISIS. We ae now scaling up the NATO training mission in Iraq in close connection with the Iraqi government." said Stoltenberg.
He said the online meetings of NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers tomorrow will focus on preparations for the Summit, to be held in Brussels on 14 June.
They are also expected to discuss a range of issues, including the way forward for NATO's engagement in Afghanistan, developments in Ukraine and Belarus, and the NATO 2030 initiative on the future of the Atlantic Alliance.
Stoltenberg inaugurated the NATO- ICI Regional Center in Kuwait City in January 2017. (end)
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