'Jordan is a major NATO's southern partner, thanks to His Majesty's efforts'

AMMAN — NATO Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood Javier Colomina has said that Jordan is a significant southern partner through which the North Atlantic Alliance can better understand the region and build awareness about its issues. 

Colomina also noted that the advanced Jordanian-NATO relation has been the outcome of His Majesty King Abdullah's efforts, active diplomacy and deep understanding of the region.

"We have always praised His Majesty for all the efforts he has been doing, not only now, but always, and particularly since October 7. The position of His Majesty has been recognised as a balanced mediator with a great understanding of the challenges and the need of the whole region to be more stable."

Asked during a recent interview with The Jordan Times about the NATO-Jordan relations, Colomina said," The relationship is quite significant, as Jordan is the southern partner with which we have the most practical dialogue. We are benefiting many things from that relationship: we better understand the region and build awareness through the eyes of Jordanian authorities." 

"On the other side, Jordan has been receiving different practical corporation tools, such as DCB [Defense Capacity Building], also we have colleagues working with the forces directly, as well as a political dialogue."

Colomina was in Amman last week for meetings with Jordanian officials. He said his visit was to check on logistical developments related to the opening of NATO office in the Kingdom.  

With the NATO office expected to open in the "next three to four months," the official said opening an office in Amman has been decided during the Washington Summit in July. 

"It [the office] comes out of a relationship that was already strong, and we thought we needed to have a stronger political presence that could carry on with that relationship and enhance it. It will help a lot to understand the needs of Jordan and also the evolution of the region and the security challenges in the region."

He explained that, besides opening a liaison office in Amman, NATO made other decisions during the July summit on the south, including approving a plan for the southern neighbourhood to increase political and practical cooperation, increase coordination among the different unions and divisions, increase the visibility of the southern neighbourhood partners.

"Jordan brings a lot to our perspective on the south. This is the country [Jordan] we collaborate the most intensively with, and the country that has balanced views on the regional challenges, the crisis in Gaza, Lebanon and the entire Middle East. Jordan is involved in the mediation to all of that, which makes it a relevant partner. "

Asked about the political and military implications of establishing a NATO office in Jordan, amid rising regional tension, including the recent Iranian missile attack against Israel, the official said, "NATO is a very serious organisation. If we decided to approve an actual plan [and] to have a special representative for the south, it is because we have decided that the south should be a priority. Sometimes, the priority makes you very involved in a way to only contribute to the efforts of others."

"NATO can do lots of things, but as a collective organisation that defends each other, the famous article 5, this only goes to our alliance, not our partners. We have 35 partners in the south and those partners are not included by article 5 therefore not obliged to get involved if there is an attack on any of them [partners]. There will be a political reaction for sure because of the physical presence of NATO in Amman, our flag here means we share similar values and we will be always trying to support as much as possible our partners." 

Colomina explained that the relationship between Jordan and NATO is vital for the alliance, given the Kingdom's involvement in all mediation and de-escalation efforts and its "balanced foreign policy."  

"Jordan is one of our preferred partners in the region. It gives us a lot in terms of situational awareness, understanding of the region, how to better tackle the challenges and the threats that we perceive in the region. Jordan has been a great partner for us, a fundamental one. To praise the very balanced approach of Jordan foreign policy, Jordan is a very respected partner because of that, always acting in a very balanced way. We have been always reliable partners, cooperating intensively from border security to counter-terrorism, to special forces, to education, training, etc."