View source for Istanbul Cooperation Initiative

{{Short description|NATO initiative in West Asia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

[[File:Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.svg|thumb|right|300px|Member states of the ICI.]]

The '''Istanbul Cooperation Initiative''' ('''ICI''') is a [[NATO]] initiative that was launched during the organisation's [[2004 Istanbul summit]].

During the summit, NATO leaders decided to elevate{{clarify|date=June 2018}} NATO's [[Mediterranean Dialogue]] to a genuine partnership and to launch the ICI with selected countries in [[West Asia]].<ref>{{cite web | publisher=NATO | title="NATO elevates Mediterranean Dialogue to a genuine partnership, launches Istanbul Cooperation Initiative" | date=29 June 2004 | url=http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/06-june/e0629d.htm | access-date=12 May 2013}}</ref> The initiative is an offer to engage in practical security cooperation activities with states throughout [[West Asia]].<ref>[https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040628-2.html WHITE HOUSE, ''Fact Sheet: The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative '', June 2004]</ref>

This new initiative stands alongside NATO's [[Partnership for Peace]] Program and the [[Mediterranean Dialogue]].<ref>{{cite web | publisher=NATO | title=Topic: Istanbul Cooperation Initative | date=3 October 2024 | url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_52956.htm | access-date=1 April 2025}}</ref> NATO itself regards these security cooperation partnerships as a response to the new challenges of the 21st century and as a complement to the [[G7]] and U.S.-EU decisions to support calls for reform from within West Asia region. The ICI offers practical cooperation with interested nations in West Asia in such areas as:

* Counter-[[Weapon of mass destruction|WMD]];
* [[Counterterrorism]];
* Training and education;
* Participation in NATO exercises;
* Promoting military interoperability;
* [[Disaster preparedness]] and civil emergency planning;
* Tailored advice on defense reform and civil-military relations; and
* Cooperation on border security to help prevent illicit trafficking of [[Illicit drug trafficking|drugs]], weapons, and people.

==Members==
* {{Flag|Bahrain}}
* {{Flag|Qatar}}
* {{Flag|Kuwait}}
* {{Flag|United Arab Emirates}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{North Atlantic Treaty Organization}}
{{NATO relations}}

[[Category:Politics of NATO]]
[[Category:2004 in international relations]]