NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Security Cooperation Forum opened on Sunday in Riyadh, which will be focusing on how to strengthen security cooperation within the framework of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told the opening ceremony that the Middle East is currently the most turbulent region in the world, and the security situations in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and neighboring Afghanistan and Somalia are worsening.

Intensifying international communication and cooperation is an important factor in safeguarding regional stability, he told the forum, which attracted over 70 officials and academics from the two blocs.

Such cooperation, in the Gulf region, is of far-reaching significance for ensuring world energy supplies and global economic development, he added.

The foreign minister also said that Saudi Arabia would be willing to cooperate with NATO on counter-terrorism operations, guaranteeing border security and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was launched by NATO at its summit in the largest Turkish city in June 2004 to offer security cooperation to countries of the broader Middle East region.

The GCC groups Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2007)