NATO, Jordan discuss border security cooperation

AMMAN — NATO and Jordan concluded talks on Tuesday to help Jordan improve its border security. 

Held in Aqaba, Jordan, the three-day workshop helped to identify Jordanian maritime and counter-terrorism requirements and ways for NATO to improve the efficiency and sustainability of Jordan’s counter-terrorism capacity, said a statement posted on the organisation’s website.

The event was co-organised by the Jordan Armed Forces and NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division, along with NATO Maritime Interdiction Operations Training Centre. 

Hosted at the Royal Naval Force and Boats Command in Aqaba, the workshop was an opportunity for allies and international organisations, including the UN, the EU, the OSCE and INTERPOL, to map bilateral and multilateral assistance as well as to identify the needs of the Jordan Armed Forces to further improve maritime border security. The recommendations will inform possible future NATO support in this field, the statement said.

Key speakers included the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Brigadier General Abdullah Shdeifat, Commander of the Royal Naval Force and Boats Colonel Hisham Al Jarrah. Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, David van Weel, represented NATO. 

In his remarks, van Weel noted that despite NATO’s current focus on the Eastern flank, the South remains equally important in the context of NATO’s 360-degree approach to security.

During his visit to Amman where he met with the Chief of Defence of the Jordanian Armed Forces, Major General Yousef Huneiti, van Weel reaffirmed NATO’s intent to enhance political and practical cooperation with Jordan, including on counter-terrorism and border security.

Van Weel also met with the Director for Military Intelligence-Internal Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The visit to Amman also included a briefing to Allied Ambassadors hosted by Romania as the NATO Contact Point Embassy.

Meanwhile, Assistant Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Planning, Organisation and Defence Resources Brig. Gen. Yousef Khatib on Wednesday met with van Weel over means to enhance cooperation and consultation in various military fields to realise envisioned goals that serve both sides.

Khatib and the NATO delegates listened to military briefings that highlighted the volume of development and modernisation of weapons and equipment at JAF and cooperation with NATO in accordance with regional developments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.