Armenian Armed Forces delegation to participate in NATO Military Committee session in Brussels
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YEREVAN, MAY 13, ARMENPRESS:The delegation, headed by the Chief of the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, Lieutenant-Colonel Yuri Khachaturov, has left from the Kingdom of Belgium. As Armenpress was reported by the Department for Information and Public Relations of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, in Brussels the delegation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia will gather at NATO Headquarters on 14-15 May for the second Military Committee in Chiefs of Defense format of 2013. General Knud Bartels, Chairman of the Military Committee, will chair the discussions on NATO Transformation, Afghanistan post-2014, Kosovo and Special Partnerships. General Philip Breedlove, new Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (as of 13 May) and General Jean-Paul Paloméros, Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation will support sessions with their insights.
The 169th NATO Chiefs of Defense meeting will begin on Tuesday 14 May with a review of NATO’s current major operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Among key speakers, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff, will update ISAF Chiefs of Defense on the wider regional context. The Military Committee will also discuss the planning of the new NATO post-2014 mission in Afghanistan, Resolute Support. With NATO’s special Partners – Georgia, Ukraine, and Russia – the Chiefs of Defense will review the progress of military-to-military cooperation, as well as exchanging views on issues of regional security.
Wednesday’s meetings will focus on NATO Transformation. The Military Committee will be briefed by Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation on the implementation of the Connected Forces Initiative and Smart Defense projects. NATO Chiefs of Defense will also discuss the way forward on NATO exercises and training, specifically a high-visibility exercise in 2015. The day will conclude with an overview of the new NATO Command Structure and updates on all other current NATO operations.
The aim throughout the two days will be to ensure that the NATO Military Committee provides timely, relevant consensus based advice to the North Atlantic Council in support of NATO’s strategic objectives.
The Military Committee (MC) is the senior military authority in NATO and the oldest permanent body in NATO after the North Atlantic Council, both having been formed months after the Alliance came into being. It is the primary source of military advice to NATO’s civilian decision-making bodies – the North Atlantic Council and the Nuclear Planning Group.