UAE, NATO discuss intensifying military cooperation

DUBAI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Gulf state United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the western military coalition North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) discussed options to improve their existing cooperation, UAE state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.

The discussion was between Major General Falah Al-Qahtani, assistant under-secretary for Policy and Strategic Affairs at the UAE Ministry of Defense, and a visiting delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on Wednesday, the report said.

The meeting in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi tackled ways to improve bilateral military cooperation "in various fields in terms of enhancing regional security and stability," the Emirati news agency said.

The two parties also discussed coordination and strategic cooperation with regard to a number of "regional and international issues of common concern."

In 2011, the UAE Air Force participated for the first time in the seven-month lasting NATO campaign against the Libyan government force under then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The UAE Armed Forces source for most of their military hardware from NATO member states such as the United States, Britain, Germany and France. Enditem