AMMAN - Under the modern leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, Jordan has been exemplary in promoting regional stability and peace through a constant search for dialogue, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
In an interview with The Jordan Times at the end of a brief trip to Jordan on Tuesday, Rasmussen said the alliance attaches great importance to the Kingdom’s “very active contribution” to the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and to its strategic position in the region.
He also commended the strong relationship the Kingdom has with the alliance, saying that since its partnership deal with NATO as part of the MD entered into force in 1995, Jordan has taken part in numerous NATO activities and has offered to host an alliance-supported regional security cooperation centre dedicated to training and educating officers from regional countries.
“Jordan is a strong supporter and promoter of the political dimension of our Mediterranean Dialogue, coupling more frequent political consultations with enhanced practical cooperation,” Rasmussen said, noting that the country is taking advantage of the tools for cooperation offered through the MD.
Further indications of this positive trend are represented by the work undertaken in key priority areas identified by Jordan, for example in the fields of fighting terrorism, logistics, defence investments, consultation on proliferation issues, civil emergency planning and border security, the NATO chief added.
NATO military officials have recently praised the country’s interest in developing its military capabilities as part of its Individual Cooperation Programme (ICP), saying it contributes significantly to the region’s stability.
The ICP - which tailors the nature of cooperation with the alliance to the specific national needs of each partner - incorporates a number of areas in which full cooperation between Jordan and NATO will be developed, including the fight against terrorism.
Jordan’s ICP - launched in 2009 - works on developing both political and technical military dimensions through enhancing dialogue and mutual understanding, as well as developing activities like training, military education, participation in military exercises and exchange of expertise.
Jordan and NATO signed an agreement in December 2007 under which the alliance finances a programme to locate and destroy explosive remnants of war through a 3.4-million- euro trust fund.
According to Rasmussen, Jordan and other MD partners are also involved in the development of the recently endorsed Strategic Concept - NATO’s third since the end of the Cold War.
“My intention is to make the Strategic Concept the most inclusive process in policy formulation at NATO,” he said.
The Strategic Concept is the core document that will give specific guidance to NATO governments on how they need to further transform the alliance and their own national defence structures and capabilities to be successful in meeting NATO’s core tasks in the 21st century.
Rasmussen, who was in Amman for his first official visit as NATO secretary general in one of the MD partner countries, also praised the Kingdom’s military and training capacities and commended the help offered to Afghanistan.
The NATO chief said Jordan was playing three crucial roles in Afghanistan, including a major humanitarian role.
“Secondly, it is contributing to combating terrorism, which is a scourge that affects both Jordan and the NATO countries, as the 2005 hotel bombings against innocent civilians in Amman showed. Your country is therefore in Afghanistan to prevent terrorism spreading and coming to Jordan; so it is there also to protect the Jordanian people.”
He also reiterated his appreciation for Jordan’s efforts to show the world the true face of Islam as a peaceful force for humanity and to prevent terrorists and extremists from hijacking Islam for their criminal agendas, urging other Muslim countries to take part in the fight against terrorism.
