| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC February 21, 2007 State Department Co-Hosts NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund Workshop
The U. S. Department of State is pleased to co-host with the NATO
Political Affairs and Security Policy Division a workshop on the NATO
Partnership for Peace Trust Fund, February 22-23 in the Washington D.C.
metropolitan area. Over 80 participants from 43 nations and other international
organizations will discuss best practices for Trust Fund projects to
retrain former military personnel, and the safe destruction of surplus
munitions, small arms, light weapons, and Man-Portable Air Defense Systems
(MANPADS), often referred to as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.
The workshop will provide participants with an overview of the Trust
Fund process and discuss the specific requirements of all states
participating in projects. Presentations will include a case-study of a $7
million (5.3 million Euros) United States-led project in Ukraine,
generously supported by the European Union and 16 nations, to destroy 1.5
million excess small arms and light weapons, and 133,000 tons of surplus
munitions there - the largest arms destruction project in history. The
United States will contribute an additional $2 million to help destroy
larger-caliber weapons, and Ukraine has agreed to destroy 2,000 more of
its MANPADS. The NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund was established in 1999.
Trust Fund projects (www.nato.int/pfp/trust-fund.htm),
funded entirely through voluntary contributions, provide practical support
for defense reform. The projects focus primarily on the destruction of
excess and aging stockpiles of landmines, munitions, small arms and light
weapons, and the retraining of military personnel no longer required as
states reduce the size of their armed forces. Seven Trust Fund projects have been successfully completed. New
projects worth over $41 million (32 million Euros) are underway in
Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Serbia, and
Ukraine. The workshop will also discuss possible projects in Afghanistan
and Jordan. All of these initiatives are part of NATO's practical
contribution to combating terrorism, supporting nations' defense reforms,
and safely destroying surplus conventional arms and munitions. To learn more about the U.S. Department of State's efforts to support
the NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund and other small arms/light
weapon destruction efforts, visit the website of the Office of Weapons
Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at www.state.gov/t/pm/wra. 2007/120 |
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