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 ConvenShow more

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

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.