Manama: Bahrain’s ambassador to Belgium has been designated as the representative of the Kingdom to the North Atlantic Council in the Belgian capital.

The North Atlantic Council has agreed ‎to accept the request for the designation, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) said in a statement.

“The Kingdom of Bahrain is a very active partner of the Alliance as a member of Nato’s Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), launched in June 2004,” Nato said. “Nato has invited all partners to open diplomatic missions to the Headquarters of the Atlantic Alliance in Brussels.”

The North Atlantic Council has also agreed ‎to accept the request of Kuwait to designate its embassy to Belgium as Mission to Nato. The Kuwaiti ambassador to Belgium thus becomes the Head of the Mission of the State of Kuwait to Nato, the alliance said on Wednesday.

The Council has also accepted the request of Qatar to designate its embassy to Belgium as Mission to Nato, making the Qatari ambassador the Head of the Mission of the State of Qatar to Nato.

In its statement, Nato said that Kuwait and Qatar were “very active” partners of the alliance as members of Nato’s ICI.

The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, launched at the alliance’s summit in the Turkish city, “aims to contribute to long-term global and regional security by offering countries of the broader Middle East region practical bilateral security cooperation with Nato.”

According to Nato, ICI focuses on practical cooperation in areas where Nato can add value, notably in the security field.

The six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were initially invited to participate.

To date, four of them — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE — have joined. Saudi Arabia and Oman have also shown an interest in the initiative, Nato added.

Based on the principle of inclusiveness, the ICI is, however, open to all interested countries of the broader Middle East region who subscribe to its aims and content, including the fight against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Each interested country will be considered by the North Atlantic Council on a case-by-case basis and on its own merit.

Participation of countries in the region in the initiative as well as the pace and extent of their cooperation with Nato depends in large measure on their individual response and level of interest.

In February, Nato and Kuwait announced the establishment of the Nato-ICI Regional Centre in Kuwait expected to be a hub for Nato’s practical cooperation with Kuwait and other ICI partners.

The centre will foster cooperation between Nato and Gulf partners in a number of areas, including strategic analysis, civil emergency planning, military-to-military cooperation and public diplomacy.

It will also serve as a link between Nato and the Gulf region, to share expertise and improve understanding, Nato said.