Antalya meeting focuses on challenges on NATO

NATO is facing challenges not only in its operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo but also in maintaining its structure and image, in addition to global issues such as climate change, energy security and terrorism, analysts argued in a weekend meeting in the Mediterranean city of Antalya. The Atlantic Council of Turkey, which works to boost public involvement in NATO affairs, brought together international analysts, academics and journalists for its 18th International Antalya Conference on Security and Cooperation to discuss the alliance's future. During the two-day conference, Nejdet Pamir, a member of the World Energy Council's Turkish National Committee, stressed that 10 years from now, 51.4 percent of the world's primary energy demand will be met with oil and gas. Energy security doesn't stop at national borders but goes all the way to the consumer, he said, adding that protecting energy supplies requires a multidimensional international policy approach. Yonah Alexander, director of the Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies in Washington, DC, emphasized that the September 2001 attacks were not the worst, as future threats to the international community include cyber attacks intended to provoke power outages, telephone system crashes, financial system disruptions, and computerized bombs. Nabeela Al Mulla, the Kuwaiti ambassador in Brussels and a representative of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (a NATO partner), composed of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, added that partnership is a necessity and since challenges are global, NATO needs partners. She added that NATO also needs the UN for political legitimacy and international acceptance, while the UN needs NATO for logistical support.