Office of the NATO Liaison Officer (NLO) in Central Asia (Archived)
From 2013 to 2017, the Office of the NATO Liaison Officer for Central Asia was based in Uzbekistan. In autumn 2016, for budgetary reasons, the Secretary General cancelled the position of NATO Liaison Officer for Central Asia, which led to the closure of the Office in Tashkent from 1 April 2017. However, NATO will continue to maintain and seek to enhance its political dialogue and practical relations with its five Central Asian partners. After the closure of the Office, practical liaison will be conducted through NATO Headquarters and the NATO military structures.
Supported by a small office, the Liaison Officer acted as NATO’s diplomatic focal point on the ground and facilitated NATO’s practical engagement with Central Asian partners in a variety of areas, including defence planning and review, support to NATO operations, defence education and training, civil emergency planning, cooperation on science and environmental issues, and public diplomacy.
The Liaison Officer further engaged and coordinated with other international actors in the region, such as Allied embassies and international organisations, including the missions of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union and the International Committee for the Red Cross.
Kazakhstan was the first Central Asian partner to host the NATO Liaison Officer.