The NATO Defense College organized an International Research Seminar entitled “Six months after the beginning of the Arab Spring: Impact and challenges for the Middle East, North Africa and NATO MD-ICI partnerships”, in Rome, on 16-17 June 2011.
Fifty-five high-level participants, including Ambassadors, regional experts, think tankers, prominent journalists, top policy-makers and representatives from NATO, the Arab League and Middle Eastern countries, discussed the impact of the so-called “Arab Spring” on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. They analysed the challenges that the new situations in these countries are creating for the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) partnerships which the Atlantic Alliance has concluded with seven Mediterranean countries (Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Israel) and four Gulf countries (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and UAE). The importance of these partnerships was underlined by the NATO Secretary General on the occasion of the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the NATO Defense College, on 20 May 2011.
The topic of this seminar appears particularly crucial at a time when NATO is trying to define a common vision for the MENA region, the situation remains extremely volatile and worrying in Yemen and Syria, and NATO is militarily committed over Libya in Operation “Unified Protector” to implement UN Security Council resolution 1973.
This seminar will help NATO and MD-ICI policy-makers to understand what is going on in the region and what can be expected tomorrow, allowing them to rethink or, if needed, reshape their partnership. An immediate report summarizing the main conclusions of this seminar will be published on the NDC website.
The NATO Defense College Research Division has for years been running a widely recognized research programme focusing on Northern African, Middle Eastern and Gulf issues. This academic research programme is part of the NATO MD-ICI partnerships.
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