Conference targets Mediterranean intelligence dialogue

During the recent NATO-hosted Mediterranean Dialogue Conference, representatives from six nations shared intelligence insights as a means of broadening the scope of challenges the region faces.

The NATO Joint Intelligence and Security Division welcomed to the NATO Headquarters Intelligence experts from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, and Morocco. The two-day event provided a forum designed to reinforce building personal links and relationship within the intelligence community.

“This is an opportunity to see the region, for a time, through different eyes,” Maj. Gen. Raul Escribano, deputy assistant Secretary General for Intelligence, said. “We know that solutions to complex problems are hard to define, but conferences like this one bring us closer to a solution.”

In addition to measures to reinforce the Alliance’s Eastern Flank, officials said NATO has also strengthened its efforts in projecting stability and the fight against terrorism, contributing to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS with AWACS intelligence flights and training for Iraqi forces.

NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue program began in 1994, uniting NATO Allies and Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Joint Intelligence and Security Division was established last year to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the interaction between NATO and the Intelligence and security communities.

NATO also created the Hub for the South in Naples to help better monitor regional threats and coordinate efforts. However, direct accounts of the experiences and views of partner countries affected by terrorism help NATO refine the contribution that it makes to the global approach.