Secretary General welcomes Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to Alliance Headquarters
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to NATO Headquarters on Tuesday (21 June 2016) to discuss NATO-Israel cooperation. “For more than twenty years, Israel has been a very active NATO partner through the Mediterranean Dialogue, the only security forum that brings together NATO Allies with Israel and Arab countries,” said the Secretary General. He stressed that NATO and Israel are taking cooperation a step further, agreeing to establish an Israeli Mission at NATO, headed by Israel’s Ambassador to the European Union.
The Secretary General noted that Israel was the first Mediterranean Dialogue country to agree a Security of Information Agreement with NATO in 2001. He highlighted that NATO is commitment to increasing cooperation with Israel, as well as with other Mediterranean Dialogue partners.
During their talks, Mr. Stoltenberg and President Rivlin discussed the evolving security situation in the Middle East and Africa. The Secretary General expressed his condolences on the recent terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv. “Terrorism has touched so many of our cities, from Brussels to Ankara, and from Orlando to Tel Aviv,” he said. He underlined that countries that share the same values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law must stand united against hate and terrorism.