NAPLES, Italy -- A team from Allied Joint Force Command Naples, which also included representatives from the Military Partnership Directorate SHAPE, Land Command Izmir, and NATO Special Operations Headquarters, discussed details of a series of cooperative training events and interoperability programs exercises to be executed over the coming years with the Tunisian Armed Forces, May 17, 2016.
Famous for being the country where the so-called Arab Spring began in December 2010, Tunisia finds itself with much to defend, and its determination to do so is evident in the country’s ever growing partnership with NATO, according to event representatives.
"Just a few years ago, Tunisia was a steady-state member of the NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue Partnership framework. Today, Tunisia has high levels of ambition and is among the most active of the Partner countries,” said Colonel Vincent Alexandre, Chief of the JFC Naples Military partnership Branch, who is currently leading a team of military cooperation experts in talks, which aim to help determine the future of the Tunisian Armed Forces relations with NATO.
"In military terms, Tunisia has set itself a program of reform and professionalization which NATO and the Allied Nations can help maintain through our tried and tested Partnership mechanisms,” said Col. Alexandre. "Joint Force Command Naples is making a significant contribution both to supporting Tunisia and achieving our Commander’s Operational Objectives by supplying regular Mobile Training Teams and by contributing to the NATO-wide planning process for this highly valued partner country.”