(Communicated by MFA Spokesman’s Bureau)
NATO’S Deputy Secretary General, Claudio Bisogniero, will head a top-level delegation scheduled to visit Israel on 23-24 November 2009. The delegation will hold talks with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first time this type of dialogue has been held, in the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue, of which Israel has been an active member since 1994.
Besogniero will meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy Dan Meridor; the Chairperson and members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee; Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai; the Head of the National Security Council, Dr. Uzi Arad; and with other senior officials.
The strategic political dialogue will take place in the framework of the Individual Cooperation Programme (ICP) agreed upon between Israel and NATO as part of the Mediterranean Dialogue. The visit of the NATO deputy secretary-general reinforces the close relations between Israel and NATO.