NATO Week in Armenia

Within the Framework of the Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), the 8th NATO Week will be held in Armenia from November 10-14.

A number of activities planned for the week include a televised space bridge between Armenian peacekeepers in Kosovo and Afghanistan and their families on November 11. Joining them will be representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense and NATO member-state ambassadors from the United States, United Kingdom and Germany.

A meeting between students at Yerevan State University, defense ministry representatives and Ambassadors of NATO member states will be held on November 12. A roundtable discussion dedicated to the Cooperation Platform initiative and UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on “Women, Peace and Security” will also be held during the week.

Armenia-NATO cooperation dates back to 1992, when Armenia joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, which was renamed the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997. Cooperation was widened when in 1994 Armenia joined the Partnership for Peace program. At the end of 2005, NATO and Armenia agreed on the country’s first Individual Partnership Action Plan. Armenia and NATO also cooperate on democratic, institutional and defense reforms.

Armenian Blue Helmets have been serving within the Greek Battalion in the Kosovo Force in Kosovo since 2004 and the country also has 130 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force where they serve under German command. Additionally, Armenia had deployed a unit under Polish Command in Iraq where they were based in Al-Kut outside of Baghdad. In 2008, Armenia withdrew its forces which coincided with the withdrawal of the Polish contingent.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Armenia continues to deepen practical and political cooperation with NATO, it has no current plans to apply for membership.