NATO BEGINS BUILDING A BROADER RELATIONSHIP WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000198 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2019 TAGS: PREL NATO MOPS MARR PK AF SUBJECT: NATO BEGINS BUILDING A BROADER RELATIONSHIP WITH PAKISTAN REF: A. STRASBOURG-KEHL SUMMIT DECLARATION ON AFGHANISTAN ¶B. SG(2009)0425 Classified By: A/PolAd A. "Hoot" Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: NATO Heads of State and Government agreed at their 60th Anniversary Summit in April to build a broader political and practical relationship with Pakistan. NATO has begun implementing this decision, approving on May 15 the Terms of Reference for a NATO Contact Point Embassy (CPE) in Islamabad. Turkey has agreed that its embassy will take on the CPE role. As a next step, NATO will begin the development of the modalities for a Tailored Cooperation Program with Pakistan. The NATO International Staff will also seek Pakistani input into the process. Nations serving in Regional Command - South have been particularly interested in a broader NATO-Pakistan relationship and had recently expressed frustration that NATO was not moving faster to implement the Summit decision. At the May 13 meeting of the North Atlantic Council, however, Canadian Permanent Representative McRae expressed appreciation that progress was finally being made. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C/REL NATO) Consistent with the new U.S. focus on a regional approach to the war in Afghanistan, NATO Heads of State and Government agreed at their April 3-4 Summit to build a broader political and practical relationship with Pakistan (ref A). Allies have begun taking steps to implement this decision. Establishment of a Contact Point Embassy -------------- ¶3. (C/REL NATO) On May 15, Allies approved the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the establishment of a NATO Contact Point Embassy (CPE) in Islamabad (ref B - emailed to EUR/RPM). Turkey has agreed that its embassy in Pakistan will take on the CPE role. ¶4. (C/REL NATO) CPEs are a well-established part of NATO's outreach toolbox. A NATO CPE exists in each of the 22 countries in NATO's Partnership for Peace, as well as in the countries in NATO's partnership structures for North Africa and the broader Middle East. CPEs are usually assigned every two years, based on principles of transparency and rotation. In addition, the decision of taking up the role of Contact Point Embassy is voluntary and based on individual nations' assessment of their capacity to effectively perform this role. In developing the TOR for a CPE in Islamabad, NATO drew heavily on the pre-existing CPE policy. At the same time, NATO also recognized that the situation in Pakistan was unique and tailored the TOR accordingly. Contact Point Embassy Functions... -------------- ¶5. (C/REL NATO) The Terms of Reference set forth five major functions for the CPE: -- Liaising regularly with other NATO member country embassies in order to inform them on the NATO agenda and, where deemed appropriate, request their assistance; -- Disseminating information on NATO to target audiences in Pakistan; -- Reviewing and commenting on proposals for potential visitors to NATO headquarters; evaluating the impact of such visits in the country; -- Assisting with visits of NATO officials in the country, USNATO 00000198 002 OF 003 including with regard to security aspects. As a general rule, the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General and other senior officials will continue the practice of briefing the Contact Point Embassy (at a meeting convening all NATO Ambassadors whenever possible) prior to the end of their visits; -- Assisting with visits of the NATO Standing Naval Maritime Group to Pakistan, in close coordination with the Embassy of the NATO nation to which the current Commander of the Standing Naval Groups belong; and -- To the extent they are able, the CPE should provide the Political and Security Policy Division at NATO Headquarters with any relevant information on developments or events which may impact NATO's relations with Pakistan. In turn, the NATO International Staff will provide, through the CPE's Mission to NATO, regular overviews of current cooperation with Pakistan. And Guidelines -------------- ¶6. (C/NATO) The Terms of Reference make clear, however, that the CPE should not be perceived as a formal NATO diplomatic mission by the host country (i.e. Pakistan). In addition, the TOR sets forth a number of guidelines which will apply to the CPE. These include: -- Formal notification to Pakistan of the designation of Contact Point Embassies is done by NATO's International Staff through the Pakistani Embassy in Brussels, with a copy to NATO's national delegations; -- The appropriate national authorities should regularly inform the NATO Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) of the contact point activities of their embassies, and provide the names of important contacts, drawing PDD's attention to needs and opportunities for information activities in country; PDD should disseminate this information to national delegations; -- PDD is responsible for regularly making available information on NATO to the Contact Point Embassy for dissemination purposes. PDD is also responsible for the planning and organization of information activities involving target audiences in the country. As such, PDD will keep the Contact Point Embassy regularly informed of these activities through national channels as appropriate; -- Information on other approved activities will be made available to Contact Point Embassies by relevant NATO authorities through national channels as appropriate; -- NATO's International Staff is responsible for making available to Contact Point Embassies--through national channels as appropriate--an updated list of contact persons dealing with Pakistan at NATO Headquarters. Similarly, the Contact Point Embassy should--through national channels as appropriate--provide NATO's International Staff with an updated list of contact persons dealing with the different aspects of NATO in Pakistan; -- Activities of the Contact Point Embassy are based on a self-financing status; -- NATO's Political Committee (PC) will ensure control and coordination of the Contact Point Embassy's activities. The PC will review the activities and role of the CPE 6 months after its establishment; -- These guidelines may be developed--subject to the approval USNATO 00000198 003 OF 003 of the PC--on the basis of the feedback obtained from the Contact Point Embassy or based on possible suggestions from the Pakistani side, but also as the relations with Pakistan evolves. -- Due consideration will be paid to avoid duplicating efforts undertaken by other liaison mechanisms, notably by existing or future ISAF Liaison offices in their military-to-military contacts regarding ISAF matters. The establishment of the Contact Point Embassy in Islamabad will also be reviewed in light of the gradual implementation of the ISAF Military Liaison Elements. Next Steps -------------- (C/REL NATO) The Political Committee has reached agreement in principle to develop a Tailored Cooperation Package (TCP) with Pakistan. NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer said at the May 13 North Atlantic Council that the PC should soon begin the development of the modalities for the establishment of the TCP. In addition, he said that the NATO International Staff will invite a delegation from Islambad to visit Brussels in order to get their input into the development of the TCP. COMMENT -------------- (C/NF) Development of a broader NATO-Pakistan relationship has been a particularly high priority for those countries serving in Regional Command - South (RC-S). At a May 11 meeting of RC-S PermReps, several PermReps expressed frustration that the Political Committee had not already begun the development of TCP modalities. Upon hearing from the Secretary General in the May 13 North Atlantic Council meeting that the PC would soon take the issue forward, Canadian PermRep McRae expressed his appreciation that progress was finally being made. McRae pointed out that he had been pressing NATO to develop a more robust relationship with Pakistan for some time. DAALDER