The third meeting of the Individual Partnership and Co-operation Programme between Qatar and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) started in Brussels on Monday.
Abdulrahman bin Mohammed al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s ambassador to Belgium and head of Qatari mission to Nato, headed the Qatari delegation participating in the meeting, while head of Nato’s Middle East and North Africa section Nicola de Santis headed the Nato’s delegation in the meeting.
A high-level delegation from the Ministry of Defence and representatives from several ministries and entities attended the meeting.
In his speech, ambassador al-Khulaifi described the relations between Qatar and Nato as 
strategic and deep.
He also pointed to the many areas that witnessed intensive co-operation between the two sides, which included the hosting of Qatar for the Nato’s meetings and events, and its participation in the tasks undertaken by Nato with the mandate of the Security Council, the latest of which is Nato’s strong support mission in Afghanistan. “The visit of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to Nato headquarters in March came to give these relations a strong impetus and great momentum.”
The ambassador explained that Qatar had been targeted by some of its neighbours who imposed a siege on it in order to undermine its status and gains as well as to deprive its independent decision, “but the people of Qatar, the government and the people, and through their unity, alignment, cohesion, and solidarity behind their wise leadership served as a strong wall in the face of the siege”.
He noted that the Qatari people succeeded in thwarting those countries’ threats and have yielded countless gains to make Qatar stronger, and self-reliant in terms of food production and processing.
“The relations between Qatar and Nato will be reflected positively on security and peace in the Gulf region, the Middle East and the rest of the world,” he said.



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