The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) is a NATO initiative that was launched during the organisation's 2004 Istanbul summit.
During the summit, NATO leaders decided to elevate[ clarification needed ] NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue to a genuine partnership and to launch the ICI with selected countries in West Asia. [1] The initiative is an offer to engage in practical security cooperation activities with states throughout West Asia. [2]
This new initiative stands alongside NATO's Partnership for Peace Program and the Mediterranean Dialogue. [3] NATO itself regards these security cooperation partnerships as a response to the new challenges of the 21st century and as a complement to the G7 and U.S.-EU decisions to support calls for reform from within West Asia region. The ICI offers practical cooperation with interested nations in West Asia in such areas as:
- Counter-WMD;
- Counterterrorism;
- Training and education;
- Participation in NATO exercises;
- Promoting military interoperability;
- Disaster preparedness and civil emergency planning;
- Tailored advice on defense reform and civil-military relations; and
- Cooperation on border security to help prevent illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons, and people.
