53rd ATA General Assembly
NATO and Global Partners: a Comprehensive Approachto to Rebuilding Afghanistan and Other Challenges
Ottawa, 31 October - 2 November, 2007
Photo L.Lynch |
The Atlantic Council of Canada, official organizer and host of the 53rd Annual Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA), brought together for a three day session, delegates from the non-governmental support bodies in the 26 NATO member states, the Partnership for Peace (PfP) states, Russia, China, the new Atlantic organizations which have emerged in recent years in several observer states as well as aspiring PfP states and states involved in NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue.
This year's Assembly entitled "NATO and Global Partners: a Comprehensive Approach to Rebuilding Afghanistan and Other Challenges" consisted of delegates and speakers from 36 different countries.
Wednesday October 31st marked the first day of the Assembly. The early morning Council Meetings of the ATA, YATA, and the AAYPL were deemed very successful by their participants. The opening ceremonies in the afternoon started with a very impressive list of speakers: a welcome address and introduction by ACC President Ms. Julie Lindhout, ACC Chairman the Hon. Bill Graham, and ATA President Amb. Robert Hunter. The opening addresses were delivered by NATO Deputy Secretary General H.E. Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, Ms. Colleen Sword, Assistant Deputy Minister of DFAIT representing the Hon. Maxime Bernier, and the Minister of Defence of Albania Hon. Fatmir Mediu. The words of greeting were delivered by H.E. Amb. Davor Božinović, Croatian Ambassador to NATO and Croatian Coordinator for NATO Communication Strategy, and the Minister of Defence of the FYRO Macedonia the Hon. Lazar Elenovski. The Assembly's first day was brought to a close with two very informative addresses: the Minister of Health of Canada the Hon. Tony Clement updated the audience on Canada's current position on Afghanistan and gave eye-opening examples of how security issues intersect directly with those of health and welfare. Mr. Gary Robbins, Director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, among other matters, praised the Canadian forces for their effectiveness in Afghanistan and expressed his condolences to the families of fallen soldiers. The evening reception held in the beautiful Ballroom of the Château Laurier was a time to relax, enjoy the food and mingle. At the opening of the reception, ATA President Amb. Hunter extended his congratulatory remarks on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the NATO-Russia Council and honoured the life of a past President of the ATA, Ambassador Ü. Halűk Bayülken.
Thursday November 1st, day 2 of the Assembly, was opened by H.E. Omar Samad, Ambassador of Afghanistan to Canada who spoke on the topic of "Afghanistan Today." His address was followed by the first panel of the Assembly; "Priorities in building security in Afghanistan." Mr. Jonathan Parish, Senior Policy Advisor of NATO Policy and Planning within the Office of the Secretary General gave the official NATO stance on this issue, while Mr. Francesc Vendrell, EU Special Representative of Afghanistan, gave his remarks from the EU perspective. During the second panel on the present "Lessons from Afghanistan and region," directly linked to the previous talks, Gen. Klaus Naumann, Former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Vice President of the German Atlantic Committee, and Prof. Sean Maloney of the Royal Military College of Canada presented their discourses. This panel was then followed by a working lunch where each table was turned into a discussion group with a list of questions to be pondered. Following lunch, LGen. Andrew B. Leslie OMM, MSC, MSM, CD, Chief of the Land Staff, former Commander of the Task Force Kabul and Deputy Commander of ISAF in 2003, and Prof. Sean Kay, Chair of International Studies at Ohio Wesleyan University were the honorable speakers of the third plenary session on the topic of "NATO's Transformation forged and tested in Afghanistan - Afghanistan's impact on NATO Alliance members and partners." During the fourth panel entitled "NATO beyond Afghanistan – cooperation with Russia, Missile Defence, Energy Security, and addressing conflict through cooperation" the Assembly started to shift gears away from Afghanistan toward other pressing issues for NATO and the international community. Mr. Tommy Steiner, Executive Secretary of the Atlantic Forum of Israel, delivered a very interesting speech co-authored with Prof. Uzi Arad, Chair of the Atlantic Forum of Israel on the topic of "NATO Mediterranean Dialogue, NATO-Israel Relations and the Future of NATO's Partnerships." Commander (Ret'd) USCG Craig Corl of the Center for Naval Analyses in Virginia spoke on the pressing, often neglected, issue of "National Security and the Threat of Climate Change." Mr. Sergey Alexeevich Ryabkov, Director of the Department of European Cooperation of the Russian MFA, whose participation in the Assembly was facilitated through the NATO Information Office in Moscow, gave a very stimulating talk, which then prompted numerous questions from the floor on the topic of "Cooperation and Challengesin NATO-Russia Relationship." The last speech of the day, which also jump-started the fifth and final panel of the Assembly entitled "NATO's global interests or global interests in NATO?", which resumed the following day, was delivered by the Hon. Lazar Elenovski, Minister of Defence of the FYRO Macedonia, who delivered an eloquent discourse mentioning the importance of the role that the ATA plays in the international community, and FYRO Macedonia's aspirations for NATO accession. The Thursday evening reception hosted by the Ambassadors of Albania, Croatia, and FYRO Macedonia, was held in the elegant Commonwealth Room of the Parliament building. The reception was tasteful and entertaining. One of the biggest pleasant surprises of the evening was the attendance of the Hon. Peter MacKay, the Minister of National Defence of Canada.
The morning of Friday November 2nd, the third and final day of the Assembly, began with a Transatlantic Forum, which gave various delegates of National Associations the opportunity to share information about their activities and speak of those issues important to them. The panel on "NATO's global interests or global interests in NATO?" was thereafter resumed, with the first speaker of the day, H.E. Amb. Davor Božinović, Croatian Ambassador to NATO and Croatian Coordinator for Cdr. (Ret'd) Craig Corl, Mr. Sergey Ryabkov, and Mr. Tommy Steiner. This final panel of the Assembly was wrapped-up with a very interesting speech by the Counsellor of the Embassy of China in Canada, Mr. Lushan Sun, on the topic of "Building a Harmonious World of Lasting Peace And Common Prosperity." Mr. Sun began his presentation with an overview of China's foreign policy, and China's vision of building a "harmonious world" through the theory of harmonious development; a theory, which he explained, stands on three major tenets: peace, development, and cooperation. He then went on to talk about China's new security concept and security related issues. The connection between China and NATO in relation to Afghanistan was touched upon, and China's views on the current situation in Afghanistan, as well as the Sino-Afghan relations were also well explained. As a result, Mr. Lushan's discourse attracted many stimulating questions from the floor and produced a very interesting question/discussion session. The report of the General Rapporteur, Col. (Ret'd) Brian MacDonald, was delivered with his usual flare for words in which the key issues brought forward during the Assembly were summed up in a clear, concise, and eloquent fashion. It was a great honor to have the Honorable Sali Berisha, the Prime Minister of Albania, deliver a closing address. He was followed by Mr. Laurie Hawn, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence of Canada; Amb. Wayne Neill, Political Advisor of NATO Allied Command Transformation; and the remarks of the President of Romania H.E. Traian Basescu, delivered by H.E. Elena Stefoi, Ambassador of Romania to Canada.
And thus the 53rd ATA General Assembly came to an end. The closing remarks were delivered by ATA President Amb. Robert Hunter; and the ACC staff were applauded for their great efforts in putting this great event together.
The Friday afternoon excursion in Ottawa and area was a great roundup to the Assembly. The participants had lunch at the Parliament, which was followed by a guided tour of the magnificent building. Then two buses took the participants on a sightseeing drive throughout downtown Ottawa and its vicinity ending up at the most interesting Aviation Museum. The tour came to an end with a delicious meal at the revolving restaurant on the high floor of the Marriott hotel in downtown Ottawa, which gave the participants a 360 degree aerial view of the national capital. The Assembly turned out a great success as it was both intellectually stimulating and highly informative. Today's pressing political issues were discussed openly and without prejudice. Event photos, the final program, and speeches and biographies of some of the speakers, can be accessed shortly on the Atlantic Council of Canada's website at www.atlantic-council.ca
By Lana Polyakov
|
