The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) is an initiative launched during NATO's 2004 Istanbul summit

2004 Istanbul summit

The 2004 Istanbul summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey from June 28 to June 29, 2004. It was the 17th NATO summit in which NATO's Heads of State and Governments met to make formal decisions about security topics...

.

During this summit, NATO leaders decided to elevate the Alliance’s Mediterranean Dialogue

Mediterranean Dialogue

The Mediterranean Dialogue, first launched in 1994, is a forum of cooperation between NATO and seven countries of the Mediterranean. Its stated aim is "to create good relations and better mutual understanding and confidence throughout the region, promoting regional security and stability and...

 to a genuine partnership and to launch the ICI with selected countries in the broader region of the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

. The initiative is an offer to engage in practical security cooperation activities with states throughout the Greater Middle East

Greater Middle East

The Greater Middle East is a political term coined by the Bush administration to group together together various countries, pertaining to the Muslim world, specifically Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Various Central Asian countries are sometimes also included. Some speakers may use the...

. This new initiative stands alongside NATO's Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

 Program and the Mediterranean Dialogue

Mediterranean Dialogue

The Mediterranean Dialogue, first launched in 1994, is a forum of cooperation between NATO and seven countries of the Mediterranean. Its stated aim is "to create good relations and better mutual understanding and confidence throughout the region, promoting regional security and stability and...

. NATO itself regards these security cooperation partnerships as a response to the new challenges of the 21st century and as a complement to the G8

G8

The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...

 and U.S.-EU decisions to support calls for reform from within the Broader Middle East region. The ICI offers practical cooperation with interested nations in the Greater Middle East in such areas as:

• Counter-WMD
  WMD
  WMD may refer to:* Weapon of mass destruction, a term used to describe munitions with the capacity to kill large numbers of human beings indiscriminately* Weighted mean difference, a measure in statistical meta-analysis...
  
  ;
• Counterterrorism;
• Training and education;
• Participation in NATO exercises;
• Promoting military interoperability;
• Disaster preparedness and civil emergency planning;
• Tailored advice on defense reform and civil-military relations; and
• Cooperation on border security to help prevent illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons, and people.