QNA
Doha
Special Representative of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for the Southern Neighbourhood, Javier Colomina, emphasized that the relationship with Qatar is robust and has been characterized by joint cooperation across multiple domains for the past 20 years.
In special remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the margins of the two-day Doha Forum 2024, Colomina added that NATO and the State of Qatar share solid ties, which have been strengthened over 20 years of cooperation, underlining that Qatar is a member of NATO’s framework for cooperation with the Gulf and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), which was launched in 2004.
There is an exceptionally good bilateral cooperation with the State of Qatar at the level of political dialogue and practical cooperation, extending from maritime security to interoperability in a variety of fields that concern Qatar and NATO, he underlined.
Colomina affirmed that since his appointment to this position following the Washington Summit last July, he has been increasing cooperation and augmenting the partnership with Qatar, highlighting that this was his first time to attend the Doha Forum as the new NATO Special Representative.
He pledged to return to Qatar because he is so impressed by the levels of participation and symposia held at the forum, adding that he participated in a roundtable and held many bilateral meetings.
In addition, Colomina pointed out that the forum reflects that fact that Qatar delves deep into global issues with its capability of gathering influential personalities in Doha, adding that he came here in attempt to outline the connotation of the Southern Neighbourhood operation that aims to make a change in the relationship with southern partners, whether in the Mediterranean, or more specifically, in the Gulf.
Through NATO’s presence here that this platform is the ideal one to do so, he highlighted, noting that he had engaged in a panel discussion with the European Union Special Representative for the Gulf Region, Luigi Di Maio, alongside the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, to explain the NATO plans, in addition to holding a series of bilateral meetings, stressing the importance of continuing bilateral cooperation with Qatar.
Colomina highlighted that such a plan comprises a multitude of pillars, namely the political dialogue and significantly engaging with southern allies and partners, in addition to practical cooperation to further bolster partnership through training in interoperability, education, counter-terrorism and maritime security, as well as general communication and vision.
In his closing remarks, Colomina highlighted that he visited Doha for the first time in June and held bilateral meetings with officials, pledging that he would come back for the third time, within a week, to chair the joint action group as a conference that is poised to be held within the framework of ICI.
He praised the work the State of Qatar is doing at the bilateral level, which extends to its efforts in mediating many of conflicts today on the global stage.