On 13 November, the Group of Experts on NATO's new Strategic Concept held their second key seminar with leading civilian and military experts in Brdo, Slovenia, to discuss NATO's operations and the "comprehensive approach".

In his welcoming remarks, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen noted planning, the relationship between security and development, and partnerships as key areas where improvement is needed.

The Secretary General reiterated his desire that the Group of Experts be fully independent, and explained that he did not want to give detailed views or proposals at this stage. He encouraged the event's participants to be "bold and innovative".

Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar said in his opening speech that, "For the Alliance, it is useful to get the out-of-the-box thinking about its role in an era of globalization when addressing new asymmetric threats to international peace and security."

Dr Madeleine Albright, Chair of the Experts Group, noted the need to prepare the Alliance to "serve as a predictable means for responding to unpredictable threats". "Together, we can ensure that our Alliance is strong and versatile, united and reliable; an Alliance that is able to make and to implement hard decisions on a timely basis," she said.

The event, hosted by Slovenia in cooperation with the United Kingdom's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), was the second of four key seminars meant to steer the process of developing a new Strategic Concept for NATO, which will guide the Alliance's activities in the coming years.

The next seminar will take place in Oslo in January.

Source: NATO News

Additional, suggested searches:

Bibliography.

Related Products.

More about this topic at Andinia.com.

Debates about this in our forum.

Related games and entertainment.