BRUSSELS: NATO and Israel agreed Tuesday to boost cooperation in the fight against terrorism and to increase military ties, an alliance official said.
We have updated, to reinforce it, the individual program of cooperation signed by NATO and Israel in October 2006, the official told AFP.
He said that the fight against terrorism and the organization of joint military maneuvers were part of the sectors where the agreement was boosted.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who met with her counterparts from NATO and Arab nations in Brussels Tuesday, welcomed the boosting of political and security ties between her country and the alliance, according to a statement, released in Jerusalem.
Livni said in the statement the agreement focuses on a number of security questions, including the fight against terrorism, intelligence exchanges and the expansion of joint maneuvers.
The NATO official said the updated agreement was complemented by a separate accord last month guaranteeing the confidentiality of information exchanged between Israel and the alliance.
Egypt signed a similar cooperation agreement with NATO in October 2007, while Jordan is also hoping to clinch one soon.
NATO has, for several years, organized naval patrols in the Mediterranean Sea in the framework of Operation Active Endeavour , the alliance s anti-terror mission. -AFP
