The King of Jordan will attend the December NATO meeting to discuss the Southern Neighborhood

BRUSSELS Nov. 12 () –

King Abdullah II of Jordan will attend the next meeting of NATO foreign ministers on December 3 and 4 in Brussels, in a first step by the military organization to have the security challenges in the country more present on its agenda. the Southern Neighborhood, a demand that countries like Spain defend in the alliance.

Different allied sources confirm to Europa Press that the ministerial meeting in December will have a session focused on the relationship with the Southern Neighborhood, which will be attended by the king of Jordan, a country of the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative with which NATO has a closer relationship. .

Along with other allies, Spain set the goal that NATO invite the countries of the region to an upcoming meeting of allies, following the example of the Asia Pacific countries that have become regular participants in NATO summits.

In this way, Madrid was pushing for dialogue with partners outside NATO to accelerate also in the case of the Mediterranean neighbors, one of the objectives that the new Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, also set upon his arrival. to the military bloc in October.

The Mediterranean Dialogue initiative brings together Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, although there are great differences in their degree of relationship with NATO and one source recognizes the difficulty of bringing together this group of countries in its entirety.

COLOMINA TOUR THROUGH THE REGION

In the midst of the military organization’s efforts to be more present in the region, the work of the special representative of the Alliance for the Southern Neighborhood stands out, a new position for which the previous Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenebrg, appointed the Spanish diplomat Javier Colomina.

On her first tour of the region, Colomina has already traveled to Egypt, Morocco and Jordan to redouble political contacts with these countries. Precisely, in Amman he discussed with the Jordanian authorities the latest preparations for the creation of a NATO liaison office.

This office will reinforce the allied presence in the region and constitutes a fundamental element of the action plan for the Southern Neighborhood approved by allied leaders at the last Washington summit to have a more solid, strategic relationship that obtains concrete results.