Eng.
/ Fr. 
NATO has developed partnerships with non-NATO countries since 1991 to promote security dialogue and cooperation as well as to help often newly independent states build a solid democratic environment and modernize armed forces.
These partnerships help to extend security across the European continent and enable participating countries to satisfy their own security requirements by drawing on the expertise of NATO countries.
NATO and Partner countries from Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the wider Mediterranean area meet on a regular basis to discuss a multitude of political and security-related issues.
Partner countries contribute to NATO’s operations and play an active role in the Alliance’s actions against terrorism.
The Alliance also is engaged in practical cooperation with these countries in areas ranging from defence policy and planning, civil-military relations, education and training, to air defence, communications and information systems, crisis management, and civil emergency planning.
NATO has been building dialogue and cooperation with partner countries since 1991. The Alliance's new Strategic Concept, issued at Washington in 1999, recognises partnerships as one of NATO's fundamental security tasks.
The Alliance engages in relations with non-NATO countries through the 50-nation Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and the Partnership for Peace - a major programme of bilateral cooperation between NATO individual Partner countries. NATO also maintains a special relationship with Russia and Ukraine and has developed relations with Mediterranean countries through the Mediterranean Dialogue, as well as with countries from the broader Middle East region through the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.
Furthermore, the Alliance cooperates with third countries that are not participating in specific partnership structures. They include countries such as Argentina, Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand, with which NATO works in different areas.
