Brussels    —  The Special Co-ordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Busek and the appointed Secretary General of the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC) Hido Biscevic met today with Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, Deputy Secretary General of NATO in the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Special Co-ordinator Busek expressed his satisfaction for the very constructive, open-minded and cooperative spirit of interaction between the Stability Pact and NATO.  He stressed that the European and Euro-Atlantic perspective for the SEE countries underpin the important progress of the region in recent years.

Secretary General Hido Biscevic voiced the readiness of RCC to build on the experience of the Stability Pact, considering its co-operation with the allies as a key instrument for reinforcing transatlantic co-operation.

Deputy Secretary General Alessandro Minuto Rizzo expressed NATO’s will to continue supporting the region of South Eastern Europe, where the Alliance’s involvement, visibility and political support for regional co-operation on defence and security issues are essential.

Several activities under the Stability Pact take place in close co-operation with NATO, namely in the sphere of defence, civil defence, including disaster preparedness and prevention, on arms control and combating the traffic of small arms and light weapons, as well as in the context of the fight against terrorism.

For further information, please contact Stability Pact's Spokesperson
Mr Georgi Gotev at the SP Secretariat in Brussels
(Tel: +32 2 401 87 25 or press@stabilitypact.org).
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PR2007/015