No. 32 (31/10/97) - 1.     PfP Workshop on Industrial Planning
                                        Prague, 20th and 21st October 1997

The Czech Republic will host a Partnership for Peace (PFP) workshop on Industrial Planning, in Prague 20th and 21st October 1997. This event is part of the Partnership Work Programme agreed between NATO and the Czech Republic.

The Czech Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Industry and Trade, Mr. Kovanda and Mr. Petricek will open the workshop. The workshop will be co-chaired by Dr. Dusan Strauch, President of the Administration of State Material Reserves of the Czech Republic and Mr. Christian Dosset, Chairman of the NATO Committee on Industrial Planning. The workshop, the first PFP workshop to be conducted by NATO's Industrial Planning Committee, draws also on the expertise of NATO's Economic Committee and Industrial Advisory Group.

More than 70 participants from 23 NATO and Partner nations are expected to take part in the sessions to be conducted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The PFP workshop will serve as a forum for the exchange of views on the contribution of industrial emergency preparedness in the development of defence and security policy. Subjects to be examined include: challenges of ensuring continued access to vital supplies in a global free market; and partnership between industry and government in the development of crisis management arrangements.

This PFP activity is part of the programme of cooperation in civil emergency planning. Civil emergency planning activities focus on activities that contribute to the development of civil and democratic emergency planning structures, civil-military cooperation, civil aspects of crisis management and disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance.

The workshop is supported by the NATO Division of Infrastructure, Logistics and Civil Emergency Planning and the Czech Administration of State Material Reserves.

Press Release (97)127

No. 32 (31/10/97) - 2.     NATO-Russia Statement on the 24 October Permanent Joint                                             Council Meeting at Ambassadorial Level

The third meeting of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council PJC at Ambassadorial level took place on Friday 24 October 1997 at NATO Headquarters, Brussels.  The representatives of NATO and Russia exchanged views on measures to promote cooperation, transparency and confidence between NATO and Russia in broad terms and highlighted the wide range of relevant activities foreseen in the Founding Act to this end.

Ambassadors had an exchange of views on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including NATO-Russia cooperation in SFOR. They stressed the importance of fully implementing the results of the recent municipal elections in the country, and agreed on the need to support the OSCE in its task to supervise the forthcoming elections in the Republika Srpska.

Ambassadors reviewed the implementation of the Work Programme for the Permanent Joint Council until the end of 1997, which had been approved at the first Ministerial meeting of the PJC on 26 September in New York. They agreed on a schedule of political consultations leading up to the December PJC Ministerial. They also set up a politico-military working group of experts on peacekeeping. They agreed that expert level meetings will be held to update the Russian Individual Partnership Programme under PfP as soon as possible and to prepare consultations on nuclear weapons issues and to determine the potential scope for armaments- related cooperation. Steps will be taken to prepare a Ministerial decision on the opening of a NATO documentation centre in Moscow next January.

Ambassadors underscored the importance of yesterday's visit of Russia's Chief of the General Staff, General Kvashnin, to NATO Headquarters and the need to increase defence-related and military cooperation. All participants welcomed the appointment of Lieutenant-General Zavarzin as Russia's military representative to NATO and expressed their satisfaction about the prospect of intensified military-to-military contacts. The next meeting of the Joint Council is scheduled for 24 November.

Press Release (97)128

No. 32 (31/10/97) - 3.     NATO's Political Committee will visit Ukraine
                                         on 27-28 October 1997

At the invitation of the Ukrainian Government, the members of the Political Committee of NATO will pay a two-day working visit to Kyiv on 27-28 October 1997. This visit, the first by the Political Committee to Ukraine, is taking place in the spirit of the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between NATO and Ukraine which was signed by President Kuchma, Secretary General Solana and NATO Heads of State and Government in Madrid last July.  The visit is part of the work plan for implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Charter as approved by the NATO-Ukraine Commission earlier this month. A main underlying aspect is the belief of the NATO Allies that an independent, democratic and stable Ukraine is one of the key factors for ensuring stability in Central and Eastern Europe and the Continent as a whole.

The main purpose of the visit will be to deepen NATO's understanding of developments in Ukraine, in particular:

- attitudes in Ukraine, both official and non-governmental, to the country's security situation and security policy including, of course, cooperation with NATO; and
- what practical opportunities exist to implement the extensive cooperation to which the NATO and Ukrainian Governments have agreed in the Charter, and how any obstacles to doing this might be overcome.

During the working visit, the members of the Political Committee will meet with officials from the various branches of the Ukrainian Government involved with the implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Charter. They will also meet with the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees of the Verkhovna Rada. These meetings will provide a valuable opportunity for NATO members and Ukrainian officials to exchange views on the further development of NATO-Ukraine relations.  The Committee will also visit the NATO Information and Documentation Center which Foreign Minister Udovenko and Secretary General Solana inaugurated in May. There, the members of the Committee will meet the students of the Taras Shevchenko University, where the Center is located.

Press Release (97)130

No. 32 (31/10/97) - 4.     Partnership for Peace Workshop and Exercise on Flood                                                       Emergencies Bratislava (Slovak Republic),
                                        29th-31st October 1997

- From 29th to 31st October 1997 a workshop and exercise dealing with different aspects of flood emergency management will be held in Bratislava.

- This event is organized in the context of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme by the Office of Civil Protection of the Slovak Ministry of the Interior. The event is supported by the NATO Civil Emergency Planning Directorate.

- The aim of the Workshop and Exercise is to exchange experiences in order to enhance insight into the various aspects of flood emergencies and the related management arrangements, as well as to observe practical rescue operations.

- An estimated 70 participants from 20 NATO and Partner nations are expected to take part in this Workshop which will be conducted at the governmental conference centre Borik in Bratislava while the exercises will be conducted on the River Danube near Bratislava.

- This PfP activity is part of the programme of cooperation in civil emergency planning. Civil emergency planning focuses on activities that contribute to the development of civil and democratic emergency planning structures, civil-military cooperation, civil aspects of crisis management and disaster preparedness and humanitarian assistance.

Press Release (97)132