NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmunsen (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key (L) prior to their working session at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Rasmussen announced his first ever visit to Australia as the 28-nation alliance prepares to strengthen ties with non-NATO nations supporting its Afghan mission. © AFP Georges Gobet
BRUSSELS – NATO and New Zealand signed a partnership deal Monday and alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced a visit to Australia as the defence group boosts ties with non-NATO nations engaged in Afghanistan.
“We may be far away geographically, but we are linked by common values and commitment,” Rasmussen said on signing an Individual Partnership Cooperation Programme Arrangement with visiting New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
Key said New Zealand’s engagement with NATO had developed considerably over the past decade, mainly through Wellington’s involvement in the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan.
“This arrangement is a move to capitalise on this engagement,” he said.
In a comment on Twitter, Rasmussen said: “I thank Kiwi troops for their courage, professionalism and sacrifice.”
The deal with New Zealand sets out steps to boost cooperation in fields such as cyber-defence, disaster relief, crisis management and training.
“We want to be even more closely connected with countries that are also willing to contribute to global security, where we all have a stake,” Rasmussen said.
Hours before meeting Key, he announced he would travel next week to Australia, saying “both countries are making a real difference to our mission in Afghanistan.”
New Zealand currently has 189 troops in the 130,236-member force ISAF force in Afghanistan, while Australia has 1,550 troops, the largest non-NATO contingent.
Rasmussen also welcomed Australia’s decision to take the main mentoring role in the central Afghan province of Uruzgan from the US command.
NATO has already agreed partnership programmes with Sweden and Switzerland and is expected likewise to boost ties with Japan.
Key said in a statement that co-operation could come through ” maintaining ongoing political dialogue on security issues of mutual interest, offering further NATO training opportunities to our defence force, and engagement with NATO as it moves to tackle emerging security challenges of interest to New Zealand.”
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