NATO in the South : Strategic Reflections and Cooperative Security

Rome, 5th of December
Venue: TBD
Working Language: English

The Southern Neighbourhood remains central to NATO’s strategic outlook, encompassing the Wider Mediterranean and facing growing influence from external actors. Its stability is essential for Euro-Atlantic security, given its role in trade, energy transit, and digital connectivity.

Recent threats to undersea cables, shipping routes, and energy infrastructure highlight the need for a comprehensive 360-degree approach, reaffirmed at the 2024 NATO Summit. The appointment of a NATO Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood and the opening of the Amman liaison office mark concrete steps in this direction.

The European Union has also reinforced its engagement through the new DG MENA and a Commissioner for the Mediterranean, underscoring shared interests amid regional tensions. In this context, closer NATO–EU cooperation is vital, particularly for European members with direct regional stakes.

This High-Level Conference will feature keynote addresses and three panels on strategic developments, partnership evolution, and practical NATO–EU cooperation towards a credible European pillar in defence, crisis management, and cooperative security.

Draft Programme (05/11/2025)

14,30 – 15,00 Participants Registration

15,00 – 15,15 Welcome Remarks

▪ Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rome

▪ Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo, President, NATO Defense College Foundation, Rome *

▪ Max Nielsen, Commandant, NATO Defense College, Rome

15,15 – 15,25 Opening Remarks
Javier Colomina, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, NATO HQ, Brussels

15,25 – 16,25 Session I Shifting Allied Priorities in the Euro-Atlantic Space: the Middle East Beyond the Present

Chair: Ahmad Masa’deh, Former Secretary General, the Union for the Mediterranean, Amman*

Ian Lesser, Distinguished Fellow and Advisor to the President, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Brussels
Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, President and Founder, Emirates Policy Center, Abu Dhabi *
Dalia Ghanem, Senior Fellow and Programme Director, Middle East Council on Global Affairs, Doha
Mahmoud Karem, Professor, British University; former Ambassador to NATO and the EU, and Commissioner, Human Rights Council, Cairo *

Q&A Session

16,25 – 17,25 SESSION II A 360-Degree Approach to the South: Security, Governance, and Balance

Chair: Niagalé Bagayoko, Chair, African Security Sector Network (ASSN), Paris *

Comfort Ero, President & CEO, International Crisis Group, London
Dahan Ahmed Mahmoud, Executive Director, Mauritanian Institute for Strategic Studies, Nouakchott *
Oumar Ba, Professor, CEDS Paris and Sciences Po, Bordeaux *

Q&A Session

17,25 – 17,55 Coffee Break

17,55 – 18,05 Keynote Speech

Karim El Aynaoui, President, Policy Center for the New South, Rabat

18,05 – 19,05 SESSION III Towards a Credible European Pillar within NATO: Capabilities for the Three Core Tasks

Chair: Teri Schultz, Freelance Journalist and NATO Correspondent, Brussels

Stefano Sannino, Director-General, Department MENA, European Commission, Brussels
Giovanni Romani, Head, Middle East and North Africa Section, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, NATO HQ, Brussels *
Lina Khatib, Principal Analyst, ExTrac, London *

Q&A Session

19,05 – 19,25 Concluding Remarks

Abdulaziz Aluwaisheg, Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs and Negotiations, Gulf Cooperation Council, Riyadh

H.E. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General, League of Arab States, Cairo

Confirmed *

Balkans and Black Sea

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