NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Security Cooperation
Forum opened on Sunday in Riyadh, which will be focusing on how to
strengthen security cooperation within the framework of the
Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told the opening
ceremony that the Middle East is currently the most turbulent
region in the world, and the security situations in Palestine,
Iraq, Lebanon and neighboring Afghanistan and Somalia are
worsening.
Intensifying international communication and cooperation is an
important factor in safeguarding regional stability, he told the
forum, which attracted over 70 officials and academics from the two
blocs.
Such cooperation, in the Gulf region, is of far-reaching
significance for ensuring world energy supplies and global economic
development, he added.
The foreign minister also said that Saudi Arabia would be
willing to cooperate with NATO on counter-terrorism operations,
guaranteeing border security and preventing the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction.
The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was launched by NATO at its
summit in the largest Turkish city in June 2004 to offer security
cooperation to countries of the broader Middle East region.
The GCC groups Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2007)
