NATO appoints new special representative for southern neighborhood

ATHENS

NATO on Tuesday announced the appointment of a new special representative for the southern neighborhood.

Welcoming the appointment, the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement: “The Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel regions are important to our Alliance. Javier Colomina has extensive experience in dealing with NATO partners. His appointment will further strengthen NATO’s important work in the South.”

Colomina will be responsible for coordinating and improving the visibility of NATO’s endeavor in the south and will strengthen engagement with partners, according to the statement.

It also emphasized that the appointment came as a result of the intra-NATO agreement in the latest summit in Washington to increase the alliance engagement with the above-mentioned regions.

Spanish diplomat Javier Colomina previously served in NATO as deputy assistant secretary-general for political affairs and security policy and secretary-general's special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.​​​​​​​