Joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah - Secretary General's opening remarks
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
24 Jan. 2017
Thank you so much Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and thank you so much for hosting us today. And I am very grateful for this opportunity to meet with you and to be here in Kuwait
And on behalf of the North Atlantic Council, I want to thank you and the government of Kuwait for hosting all of us here today.
Kuwait has been a strong and dedicated NATO partner for many years. And you help to build greater security and stability in the Gulf region.
Including through this very building – the NATO-ICI Regional Centre – which we inaugurated earlier today.
Minister, last year you and I signed a NATO-Kuwait Transit Agreement to facilitate the transit of personnel and supplies to our NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
And to make any future NATO activities in the region more effective.
Back in 2004, Kuwait was the first country to join NATO's Istanbul Cooperation Initiative – the ICI.
Kuwait was also the first ICI country to establish an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme with NATO.
Today all four ICI countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – have these cooperation programmes with NATO.
This means that we will be able to step up our cooperation in many areas, including:
- Crisis management and the fight against terrorism;
- Energy security;
- Cyber defence;
- Non-proliferation;
- Defence against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons;
- Maritime security;
- And civil emergency management.
Our relationship with Kuwait and the other the ICI partners reached a new level last year, when all four countries opened diplomatic missions to NATO. So our ties are getting broader and they are getting deeper.
Today we held a meeting of the North Atlantic Council here in Kuwait.
Together with our ICI partners, as well as other countries, we are developing our cooperation and it is becoming stronger every day.
We discussed regional security challenges, and how we can work together to address them.
Including at this impressive new facility – the NATO-ICI Regional Centre – which we opened this morning.
It is the Alliance's first such presence in the Gulf. And this centre will be a vital hub for our practical cooperation.
This is essential. Because our security is directly linked. We face the same threats, like terrorism and failing states. And we share the same aspirations for peace and for stability.
We have learned over the years that we are much stronger with allies and partners than we are alone.
So I am extremely pleased that our cooperation with Kuwait and our other Gulf partners is reaching new heights.
And I look forward to working even more closely together in the future. Including at our new Regional Centre here in Kuwait – a proud home for a promising partnership.
So thank you once again for hosting us and for making this very centre such a great success and enabling us to inaugurate it today.
Thank you.
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