Ashraf AboArafe
Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), on the evening of Monday, January 22nd, on the sidelines of his current visit to the Belgian capital, Brussels, to chair the tenth meeting of the Association Council between Egypt and the European Union. The meeting comes within the framework of interest in consulting with the Alliance regarding developments in bilateral cooperation and developments in the current regional crises. This came in a statement made by Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman explained that the meeting reaffirmed the momentum witnessed in bilateral relations between Egypt and the alliance, and appreciated the level of existing cooperation, which was reflected in the increased pace of exchange of high-level visits over the past year. The two sides also discussed ways to deepen mutual consultation mechanisms on issues of concern, and ongoing efforts to launch the Individually Tailored Partnership Program (ITPP), which regulates relations between the two sides. Minister Shukri and the Secretary-General expressed their aspiration to launch the program as soon as possible, paving the way for enhancing cooperation in areas of common interest, especially in the areas of capacity building and transfer of expertise, combating terrorism and combating improvised explosive devices (C-IED), in addition to cooperation in the field of mine clearance. Taking into account the geographical expansion of urban areas near the minefields left by World War II, and in light of the capabilities and experience that NATO has in this field. The NATO Secretary General was keen to stress his appreciation for the existing partnership between Egypt and the alliance, and his appreciation for the pivotal role played by Egypt in the region and its contribution to enhancing security and stability there.
The official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the meeting also touched on exchanging visions and assessments of a number of issues in the region, most notably the ongoing crisis in Gaza and the future of the Palestinian issue, in addition to the current developments in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region, where Minister Shukri briefed NATO Secretary General on The determinants of the Egyptian position on these issues and Egypt’s efforts regarding these files, as well as in enhancing security and stability in the region. The Minister also listened to the Secretary-General’s assessment of developments in the Ukrainian crisis.
In a related context, at the conclusion of the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs reviewed the capabilities of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA), and the capacity building efforts undertaken by the Center in Africa, especially on climate change issues, as it is one of NATO’s partner training and education centers (Partnership Training and Education Centers PTEC). . For his part, the Secretary General of NATO appreciated the efforts undertaken by the Center, expressing his interest in cooperating with Egypt in capacity building efforts in Africa.
