NATO’s extensive pool of subject matter experts tell you what you need to know about a wide variety of defence and security issues around the world, and what NATO is doing to make you safer and more secure. From fighting terrorism, to collective defence, learn about the security issues that matter directly from the experts. NATO Strategic Direction – South, or NATO Hub for the South, opened in 2017 and is designed to enhance cooperation among organisations tackling the security complexities beyond NATO’s borders. At the Hub, NATO actively communicates and collaborates with the United Nations, the Red Cross and other organisations in areas affecting NATO’s southern flank. The Hub, under the roof and lead of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, focuses on a variety of current and potential issues to include destabilisation, terrorism, radicalisation, migration and environmental concerns. A role of the new centre is also to coordinate and work alongside agencies outside of the NATO and national military structures as they concentrate on southern regions, including the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel, sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent areas, waters and airspace.

Transcript

Why is NATO looking at North Africa and the Middle East? NATO needed to build an understanding of what was going on in North Africa and the Middle East, and based off of two very important summits, their answer to that was a framework for the south and part of that was the NATO Strategic Direction, South hub, which we call “The Hub” for short.

We can see radicalisation, human trafficking, crime, illegal immigration.

Stability in those regions leads to stability for the alliance. That’s where the (mumbles) goal is. It’s not NATO saying, “We’re NATO and we’re going to fix all your problems Africa or the Middle East.” It’s kind of a ridiculous statement.

We are working with international institution that are engaged in the area of our interest. For example, the Red Cross, or the U.N. agency, depending on what the topic that we are talking about.

Giving them an ear is something that I think is going to be one of our biggest, tangible workouts for the Hub.

I think that NATO can offer to those organization a mindset and a process that is coming from the experience that NATO has gained during the military operation. Afghanistan is an example but before it was the Balkans.

I like to think of it as us sitting in the room with all the players, taking notes, finding out who the important players are. Finding out who all the players are and figuring out where we can build up a new relationship with those people, with those stakeholders facilitate open source information sharing for the betterment of stability. Promoting peace and stability and that’s what this organization is about.