Foreign ministers from NATO member states and their counterparts from Gulf countries participating in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative agreed to strengthen cooperation in response to the challenges highlighted by the Iran war. The meeting, held late Tuesday into early Wednesday on the sidelines of NATO's 36th summit in Ankara, focused on regional security developments, the security of maritime routes, and strengthening the partnership between NATO and the initiative's participating countries. The meeting took place as part of Türkiye's efforts, as host of NATO's 36th summit, to discuss the Iran war and its repercussions for the region and the wider world. It came after weeks of tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, despite the United States and Iran reaching a temporary peace agreement. Strengthening cooperation Ahead of the meeting, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the stability of Gulf states, which came under Iranian attacks during the war with the United States and Israel, was closely linked to Europe’s stability. He said the issue went beyond the Strait of Hormuz, despite its vital importance to European energy security. Gulf representatives at the meeting stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with NATO. Kuwait, which hosts the headquarters of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, was represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah bin Jaber Al-Ahmad. He held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday, on the eve of the NATO summit, focusing on bilateral relations and regional issues. Bahrain’s delegation was headed by Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Khalifa, director general of bilateral relations at the Foreign Ministry. Qatar’s delegation chief, Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Dr. Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, announced during the meeting that Qatar and NATO had reached an agreement on a partnership program, though the details were not disclosed. He said the program would establish a comprehensive strategic framework to organize and guide civilian and military cooperation between the two sides. He said Qatar attached great importance to strengthening its cooperation with the alliance under the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative. He also said the two sides were nearing the final stage of establishing a regional center for peace support operations in Qatar under NATO sponsorship. Al-Khulaifi said the Ankara meeting came at a pivotal stage, when security and political challenges had become more interconnected and complex, and international interests more intertwined. He said this made it necessary to unify efforts and strengthen coordination to confront challenges that affect the security of Middle Eastern states and threaten the foundations of regional and international stability. The Istanbul Initiative and the ‘Iran war’ The Istanbul Initiative, which had remained a suspended framework during successive crises in the region, regained importance amid recent developments and the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Türkiye sees value in turning it into an effective tool in cooperation with countries bearing the brunt of regional instability. NATO leaders launched the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative at their summit in Istanbul on June 28, 2004, as a partnership framework aimed at strengthening practical cooperation in counterterrorism, energy security, air defense and joint military exercises. The initiative came after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, when NATO activated Article 5 of its founding treaty for the first time in its history. That increased the importance of regional partnerships and cooperation mechanisms, after threats such as terrorism, which cross borders and require a collective response, showed the need for NATO to engage in closer political and practical cooperation with regional partners. The initiative followed an earlier move to deepen NATO’s partnership with North African countries through the 1994 Mediterranean Dialogue. Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates joined the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, which was launched as a broad framework for cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa after the Mediterranean Dialogue, beginning with the Gulf region in 2005. Saudi Arabia and Oman did not join but continue to participate only in selected activities under the initiative. Objectives of the initiative The initiative aims to strengthen regional and international security and stability by building practical bilateral partnerships with Middle Eastern countries, with a main focus on interested countries, especially in the Gulf region. The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Group, composed of political advisers from NATO member states, was created to manage relations between the alliance and its partner countries. It was later replaced by the Political Partnerships Committee, which is responsible for managing all NATO partnership relations. The initiative’s regional center was established in Kuwait in January 2017 as a key hub for training, education and strengthening operational partnership between NATO and ICI member states in the Gulf region. Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg took part in meetings held in Kuwait in 2024 to mark 20 years since the launch of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative. NATO has also appointed a special representative for the southern neighbourhood to lead the alliance’s engagement and cooperation with partners in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel, including partners in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative. The role is aimed at strengthening partnership and cooperation on issues such as defense planning, defense budgeting and development, and civil-military relations, while taking into account the specific circumstances of each country. It also aims to establish cooperation enabling coordinated operations between NATO armed forces and partner countries, allowing them to participate in NATO exercises. The role also includes coordinating specific exercise programs and cooperation on counterterrorism through intelligence sharing, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, and border security. It focuses mainly on terrorism, the uncontrolled spread of small arms, smuggling and the development of a civil emergency action plan to respond to natural disasters.
