Nato announces office in Amman in 'significant milestone' in partnership

Announcement comes during summit being held in Washington

US President Joe Biden speaks during the meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Heads of State and Government during the NATO 75th anniversary summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2024. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)Show less

Nato will open a liaison office in Jordan's capital Amman, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced on Wednesday, in a “significant milestone” in the strategic partnership between the alliance and the Hashemite kingdom.

Speaking at a news conference on the second day of the Nato summit in Washington, Mr Stoltenberg said the move would bring the partnership to a new level.

“Jordan is a long-standing, highly-valued Nato partner and by establishing the Nato liaison office we are bringing this partnership to a new level,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

“It also demonstrates that Nato actually addresses the threats and the challenges but also the opportunities that emanates from the Middle East, from North Africa."

The announcement came as Nato marks the alliance's 75th anniversary in Washington.

Discussions over the creation of a Nato office in Jordan began in July last year. Mr Stoltenberg said he discussed the issue with King Abdullah II during their last meeting.

The office is expected to be in charge of training, fighting terrorism, enhancing cyber security and fighting climate change, among others.

In a statement, Nato said that the announcement “acknowledges Jordan's significant role as a beacon of stability in both regional and global contexts, and as a long-time champion in fighting transnational threats, including terrorism and violent extremism".

The three-day summit was dominated by the war in Ukraine, but Nato member states see a deepening of relations with the Mena region as a matter of urgency, particularly given Israel's months-long war on Gaza and the risk of spillover into other regions.

Nato officials say there is no consensus among member states on the war on Gaza, which erupted on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people.

Israel's massive retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of the coastal enclave.

Houthi rebels from Yemen have been attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea since November, in what the group calls acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Other groups in the region have attacked US troops and facilities in Syria, Iraq and Jordan.

For weeks, the US and allies have been pushing for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza that would lead to a permanent end to the fighting, but efforts have stalled.

Nato summit in Washington – in pictures

US President Joe Biden speaks during the meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Heads of State and Government during the NATO 75th anniversary summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2024. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

From left, Mr Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Bloomberg

Viktor Orban, Hungary's Prime Minister, stands for a photo. Mr Orban made a recent visit to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bloomberg

Mr Biden speaks during the opening session of the summit. AP

Mr Biden greets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Bloomberg

Mr Stoltenberg speaks during the summit. AFP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, speaks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, centre, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before the first working meeting of the Nato summit. AFP

Mr Starmer speaks with Mr Biden. The UK Prime Minister is visiting Washington following a landslide win for his party in the recent elections. Getty Images / AFP

Leaders of allied countries pose for a photo at the summit. AP

Mr Trudeau and President of Finland Alexander Stubb speak at the summit. EPA

Mr Biden delivers remarks at the summit. Getty Images / AFP

Mr Stoltenberg speaks during the summit. EPA

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas attend the summit. AFP

Mr Biden and Mr Stoltenberg greet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on stage before a group photo. Getty Images / AFP

US House Speaker Mike Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet on Capitol Hill in Washington. EPA

Mr Zelenskyy presents Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with Ukrainian medals at the US Capitol. Getty Images / AFP

Mr Zelenskyy speaks at the Ronald Reagan Institute on the sidelines of Nato summit. AP

Heads of state pose for a group photo during the summit. Getty Images / AFP

Mr Biden announces new air defence systems for Ukraine at the 75th anniversary event. Bloomberg

Mr Biden awards Mr Stoltenberg with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Reuters

Jordan has been a member of Nato's Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) partnership forum since 1995. Its army has worked with Nato forces and has deployed in UN peacekeeping missions, including in Libya, Afghanistan and Kosovo.

The US maintains several military bases in the kingdom.

Nato maintains a regional centre in Kuwait, as part of the Istanbul Co-operation Initiative (ICI), the framework launched in 2004 between Nato and the Gulf states.

Mr Stoltenberg inaugurated the centre in 2017.

It is unclear when the Amman office would be officially opened.

Nato recently appointed Farah Dakhlallah, a British citizen, as its first native Arabic-speaking official.