NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited the UN on 19 and 20 September to discuss current operations and ideas for enhancing NATO-UN cooperation with Secretary General Kofi Annan.

They discussed in particular the development of a comprehensive international effort to continue to support the Afghan Government after the 18 September parliamentary elections.

The holding of the elections marks the formal conclusion of the so-called Bonn process, which has guided the reconstruction of Afghanistan to date.
A more structured relationship

The two Secretary Generals also discussed ideas for enhancing NATO-UN relations and agreed to pursue a deeper and more structured relationship between the two organisations.

This year the UN celebrates its 60th anniversary.

“We can, and should do much more together. We should, for example, talk about terrorism, and how to fight it most effectively. And we should have strategic discussions, on a regular basis, on the future of our shared missions, such as in Afghanistan, ” Mr. De Hoop Scheffer said of NATO-UN relations in a policy speech at Columbia University.

During the visit, the Secretary General also met a number of senior UN officials and attended a luncheon hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for NATO and EU Foreign Ministers, to discuss a broad range of common issues.