Nato Strategic Direction - South a concrete road map for future cooperation in promising new areas . The Joint Africa-EU Strategy acknowledges that peace and security are necessary conditions to ensure progress and sustainable development .
- African Union . Under the leadership of the African Union ( AU ), Africa has intensified its efforts to prevent , manage and resolve conflicts . The NATO ´ s cooperation with the AU encompasses , logistic and capability building support , as well as support for the operationalisation of the African Standby Force .
- Forum for the Dialogue in the Western Mediterranean . This Forum , also known as 5 + 5 Dialogue , is an informal political dialogue that brings together ten countries from the Western basin of the Mediterranean : five countries from the Arab Maghreb Union ( Algeria , Libya , Morocco , Mauritania and Tunisia ) and five members of the European Union ( Spain , France , Italy , Malta and Portugal ).
- Security Cooperation & Military Operations . Currently , more than 20 military operations and security cooperative actions are active in the NATO Southern Flank . Some of them belong to International Organizations ( especially EU , but also UA , UN and NATO ), some others are National ( the most relevant involved nations are USA , France , Italy and Spain ).
Nato Strategic Direction – South ( Nsd-S ) Way Ahead
The broad and evolving challenges from the South have implications for the Alliance ’ s ability to fulfil its three core tasks : Collective Defence , Crisis Management and Cooperative Security . Thus , it is essential the Alliance to prepare for these challenges , depending its credibility on demonstrable capability and usability of its capacities to address the threats emanating from the South .
The strategy for the development of the NSD-S should include the following elements , entirely integrated in a comprehensive strategy :
- Regional Understanding & Situational Awareness . The ability to anticipate and respond to crisis emanating from the
EUTM Mali – European mission to ensure the stability in the Sahel
south , understanding tracking and , ultimately , anticipating the actions of potential adversaries is key . To improve NATO strategic anticipation by enhancing our awareness will require to implement a new framework , likely establishing a permanent element .
- Partnerships . It is vital the development of an appropriate strategy that adds multi-dimensional synergies , harnessing a wide array of military and non-military instruments enacted through a broad combination of international bodies .
- Support Military Capability . In a lower level , NATO must be ready to support the development of the military capabilities of regional Armed Forces , enhancing the Governments and the stabilisation of the entire region . While the UE is primarily focusing on training basic necessary military skills for Stability and Security Operations , NATO could offer its added value by specific COIN and joint training , based on the know-how and expertise from Afghanistan .
- Strengthening NATO Capabilities . Planning and execution of operations in the NSD-S would require specific requirements , different to other scenarios . Consequently , it needs to be considered to maintain and improve skills and capabilities required for expeditionary operations or to be trained in Counterinsurgency / Counterterrorism Operations . NATO ability to track and anticipate the actions of potential adversaries through Intelligence , Surveillance and Reconnaissance is increasingly important . Furthermore , conducting a suitable proportion of relevant NATO exercises and activities directly related to the NSD-S , supports decisively the NATO security message , in the context of wider deterrence and defence .
CONCLUSION
The threats and challenges NATO faces from the South present a high complexity and , most likely , will grow over the next decade . These challenges require an understanding and a collaborative design , implementing a multi-dimensional strategy in close coordination with the international organizations , partners and other relevant actors in the region .
It is the time to act : from the political through operational level , initiating early planning , coordinating activities as well as a solid preparation during the next few years , may prevent the Alliance from having to face these threats becoming insurmountable .
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