North Atlantic Council discusses priorities with NATO country parliamentarians
The North Atlantic Council hosted representatives of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA) on Monday 25 February, to discuss this year’s priority issues for the Alliance. “Parliamentarians have a critical role in forging the cooperation and solidarity that is so necessary for us,” said Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, who chaired the meeting.
Ambassador Vershbow thanked parliamentarians for their political support in developing a strong relationship between the Alliance and national parliaments.
The North Atlantic Council and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly meet annually to discuss points of interest. This year’s meeting touched upon the Alliance’s priority issues for 2013 which include Afghanistan, partnerships and defence capabilities.
Ambassador Vershbow also used the meeting to update the parliamentarians on last week’s defence ministerial where the ministers took concrete steps to improve Allied capabilities and interoperability and assessed progress in Afghanistan.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is an interparliamentary organization, which brings together legislators from NATO member countries to consider security-related issues of common interest and concern.