Kuwait: NATO opens regional HQ

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg formally opened NATO’s first regional office on 24 January in Kuwait. Going by the unwieldy title of the NATO-Istanbul Co-operation Initiative (ICI) Regional Centre, it is designed to strengthen ties between NATO and its Gulf partners in dealing with terrorism and other matters. Stoltenberg also held talks with prime minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, foreign affairs minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Kuwait National Security Bureau president Sheikh Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.