NATO,
Meeting in preparation for the upcoming NATO Summit in April, Allied Defence Ministers will review ongoing operations and the Alliance's transformation during informal discussions in Kracow, Poland, on 19 and 20 February.
The meetings will start on Thursday with an Informal Working Lunch of NATO Defence Ministers, with invitees Albania and Croatia. The focus will be operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and also piracy and what role the Alliance might play in the near future countering this threat.
The Ministers will then meet in ISAF format with non-NATO troop contributing nations, the Afghan Defence Minister Wardak and the UN Special Representative in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, to discuss a number of issues. Key themes will be NATO's support to the expanding Afghan National Army (ANA), possibly enhancing support to the Afghan police, the upcoming elections and review of the political-military plan.
On Friday, the 28 Defence Ministers will take stock of the Alliance’s ongoing transformation, including the implementation of the NATO Response Force, and discuss the Headquarters’ reform led by the Secretary General.
Later that morning, the NATO-Ukraine Commission will review defence and security sector reform in Ukraine and discuss the first annual national programme currently being developed.
Finally, the NATO-Georgia Commission will convene to discuss NATO’s assistance to Georgia since the events in August, the country's defence reform and its priorities for 2009, including a review of the national security strategy.
