Secretary-General, Latvian President outline NATO Summit Priorities
~ Vīķe-Freiberga: NATO should be "efficient, effective, engaging" ~
28.11.2006
RIGA, Latvia (November 28, 2006) - In keynote addresses today to The Riga Conference: Transforming NATO in a New Global Era, two critical figures for the coinciding NATO Summit, Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, laid out their agendas for the Summit and for the alliance.
Vīķe-Freiberga said there were three key "E" words that defined the alliance's future - an efficient alliance capable of common decisions and similar goals, an effective alliance equipped with necessary military equipment, and an engaging alliance that is focused on security and on propagating security through cooperation and likeminded partners.
De Hoop Scheffer said the alliance nations must agree that "globalized threats need globalized responses... We need to operate without self imposed geographical restrictions." He later added that "Afghanistan will not be our last mission outside of Europe."
The two leaders spoke to an audience of internationally recognized policymakers, officials, scholars, and business leaders, organized by the Strategic Analysis Commission under the auspices of the President of Latvia, the Latvian Transatlantic Organization, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Among the topics they other priorities they set for the Summit was progress in Kosovo and increased efforts in Afghanistan.
De Hoop Scheffer said that NATO is in constant transformation, especially as it expands its global partnerships. "The evolution of partnership is one of NATO's greatest success stories. We need to reach out to those countries that share our goals...the potential of partnership is far greater than some believe. This summit should help us unlock this potential."
The Secretary-General also echoed a speech by U.S. Senator Richard Lugar the night before, saying energy security is one area NATO can and should matter. "NATO cannot take on every issue raised by globalization, or it would become a jack of all trades," he said. "So we must decide where NATO can make a difference."
The Riga Conference: Transforming NATO in a New Global Era, occurring November 27-29, during the NATO Riga Summit, convenes decision-makers who shape, enact, and exercise the policies at the core of NATO's agenda. The Riga Conference focuses on NATO's continuing transformation - on its outreach and new relationships around the world, the question of expanding NATO's role in global crises, energy security, Afghanistan, and the Balkans, its future with Russia, and its own future for enlargement.
