Either it goes to state or non-state players, disinformation, cyber threats on the part of criminal groups, the COVID-19 pandemic and others, the security challenges for NATO and the Republic of Moldova are common. These challenges continue to evolve and expand. “The problems we see when it comes to rules-based international order concern countries that use force to achieve their foreign policy objectives, employ economic pressure and disinformation to undermine the security of our countries, our organization, the peace and security that we tried to strengthen during over 40 years,” Tanya Hartman, Head of the Eastern Partnership Division of the NATO Political Relations and Security Policy Department, stated in a conference titled “Partnership and security perspectives through cooperation within NATO 2030 agenda” that was staged by the Information and Documentation Center on NATO in partnership with the NATO Liaison Office in Moldova, IPN reports.
“We committed ourselves to address these security challenges, to build the resilience of the Alliance’s member states. Resilience, strong sovereignty of each member state and defense capabilities – powerful intuitions - are key for counteracting challenges,” stated Tanya Hartman. “The reforms are a challenge, but they are necessary as NATO continues to develop and we continue to reform ourselves as NATO allies, no matter how young and experienced, large or small the nation is. We continue to reform ourselves daily. We have ambitious reform programs as member states and as an Alliance, as our partners do.”
According to Tanya Hartman, the reformation and strengthening of the state institutions are necessary as the institutions, for their part, strengthen the country’s sovereignty and security.
Attending the conference, the Minister of National Defense of Lithuania Arvydas Anušauskasc said NATO does not stop at security within its perimeter. “NATO has a very large network of partnerships all over the world. NATO’s strategic concept says partnerships offer valuable contributions to the success of NATO’s fundamental tasks. The relationship with the partners is based on reciprocity, benefits and mutual respect”.
The minister noted that NATO means not only the military, but also democratic values, a particular creed and reforms that help to root out corruption and build the rule of law. Lithuania wants to see a more ambitious policy in the Eastern Partnership and is ready to offer assistance to Moldova in training military personnel, as it did in Georgia and Ukraine.
Currently, NATO has partnerships with about 40 countries from all the continents. Alongside the Republic of Moldova, the partner states of NATO are Japan, Australia, Columbia and others. Ghana is the first African country that became a NATO partner.
