NATO’s “Expert Group on the South” met at the NATO Defense College on 12 December 2023. Since the appointment of the expert group by way of the Secretary General’s initiative at the Vilnius Summit earlier this year, the Group has been entrusted to undergo a comprehensive reflection on existing and future threats, challenges, and opportunities for NATO’s engagement with partner nations, international organizations, and other relevant actors on its southern flank, particularly the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel. The final report and the Expert Group’s recommendations will be presented at the next NATO Summit in Washington, D.C. in July 2024.
Following opening remarks from Dr Silvia Colombo, Senior Researcher at the NATO Defense College, the Expert Group was introduced to the NDC’s structure, its mission and its activities in education, research and engagement, which serve as a guiding beacon for cooperation among NATO Allies and partner countries. This overview encapsulated the essence of cooperative dynamics, emphasizing the pivotal role the NDC plays in engaging senior officials from the Southern neighborhood through its NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC) and Senior Course.
The gathering gained further momentum with a compelling presentation by LGEN Giovanni Iannucci, who shared his invaluable experience as former Commander of NATO Mission Iraq and currently as Chief of Staff at the Italian Ministry of Defense. LGEN Iannucci’s speech provided the group with an opportunity to enquire about NATO’s Mission in Iraq and discern pertinent lessons for future missions. His insights unveiled invaluable lessons from NATO’s Mission in Iraq, casting a spotlight on the significance of receptive counterparts, stable institutions, and the indispensable role of women for the stability of the country. This latter point was further echoed by BGEN Dieter Kohl, Assistant Chief of Staff J9, Joint Force Command Naples as he presented the toolboxes available to enhance collaboration with the Southern region. Col José Antonio de la Fuente Cagigós, Head of the Knowledge and Engagement Branch at NATO Strategic Direction-South HUB, also delivered remarks on the HUB’s mission and the need to reinforce the feedback-loop among NATO’s various institutions.
The meeting also included a foresight exercise led by Dr Florence Gaub, Director of the Research Division. She engaged the Expert Group in a stimulating brainstorming session exploring the region’s future (un)certainties. Notably, the role of Artificial Intelligence, emerging technologies, climate change, interstate conflicts, energy security, the role of Russia and China in the region and nuclear stability were central to the conversation.
Throughout the immersive conversations, the experts navigated through the intricacies of NATO’s Southern neighborhood, with a particular focus on the Middle East, North Africa, and the Sahel regions. The session culminated in a comprehensive assessment of the region’s current landscape and its future trajectory, thereby setting the scene for forthcoming deliberations to be included in their final report. The report should assist the Allies in taking stock of evolving developments in NATO’s South, and identifying concrete recommendations to shape NATO’s future approach, including opportunities for further engagement and cooperation with partner nations, international organizations, and other relevant actors. Against this backdrop, this meeting was not only a gathering of minds – it was a convergence of expertise both within and outside NATO. The occasion ignited pathways towards a more informed, collaborative, and strategically aligned future for NATO’s engagements in the southern sphere.
The Group continued its immersive tour at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, followed by a productive virtual engagement with NATO Defence Policy Directors.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Katja-Elisabeth Herrmann Eufracio, DEU/MEX C)
NATO Defense College