Start Date	Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:56:00
End Date	Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:56:00
Location	United Arab Emirates
Speaker

Paul Flaherty, the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO, took part in NATO’s first high-level visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 28 – 30 October 2009.

The North Atlantic Council, involving NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the 28 Allies, participated in a conference on “NATO-UAE Relations and the Way Forward in the Istanbul Co-operation Initiative”.

The Conference was opened by the UAE’s Foreign Minister, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the NATO Secretary General.  Speakers included the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Kuwait’s Vice President of the National Security Bureau and the Advisor to His Majesty the King of Bahrain on Diplomatic Affairs. The Conference provided an opportunity to discuss regional security concerns and ways of developing NATO’s relations with the Gulf States.  The UAE also signed a security of information agreement to facilitate the exchange of information between NATO and the UAE.

The Istanbul Co-operation Initiative (ICI) was established in 2004 to foster mutually beneficial relationships between NATO and the Gulf to enhance regional security and stability.  Kuwait joined the ICI in December 2004, followed by Bahrain and Qatar in February 2005, and the UAE in June 2005.  Invitations to join the Initiative have also been extended to Saudi Arabia and Oman.  NATO and ICI nations co-operate in practical activities, political consultations and public diplomacy events covering defence and security issues.

The high-level visit to the UAE follows similar events in Bahrain (2008) and Kuwait (2006).

Further details on the Conference can be found on the NATO website.