ISTANBUL - The second day of the Euro-Atlantic Council meeting under the 17th NATO Summit in Istanbul started on Tuesday with the participation of heads of state and government of 26 allied countries 20 countries cooperating with the Alliance.
Foreign ministers of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are attending the meeting as observer.
President Hamid Harzai of Afghanistan is expected to address the meeting.
NATO, which plans to be more effective in Central Asia and the Caucasus, is expected to approve a document to reflect its will to increase cooperation with the regional countries.
During yesterday's meeting, NATO decided to appoint officials in those regions to consult in defense issues.
NATO has started a partnership process with non-allied countries since 1991 to help countries which became newly independent, as well as to build a solid democratic environment, maintain political stability and modernize their armed forces. These partnerships help to extend security across the European continent and enable participating countries to meet their own security requirements by drawing on the expertise of NATO countries.
Besides 26 allied countries, 20 cooperating states - Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine - formed the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
NATO and partner countries meet on a regular basis to discuss a multitude of political and security-related issues, including joint fight against terrorism, arms control, peace-keeping operations, defense economy and nuclear safety.
The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the political consultation and cooperation organ of NATO, provides the overarching political framework for the Partnership for Peace (PfP), which is a program for practical cooperation between NATO and individual partner countries.
PfP offer activities in over 20 areas ranging from defense policy, and planning, civil-military relations, education and training, air defense, communications and information systems, crisis management and civil emergency planning.
NATO committed itself to consult with any partner country that perceives a direct threat to its territorial integrity, political independence and security.
NATO Istanbul Summit will end following the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council meeting.
(UK-ULG) 29.06.2004