The head of Nato said Sunday that the alliance's troubled mission in Afghanistan shows it is vital to boost ties with nations like China, India and Pakistan. Drawing from flaws exposed in Afghanistan, where Nato is struggling to hold off a Taliban and al Qaeda insurgency, Anders Fogh Rasmussen called for the military alliance to become the hub of a broad global security coalition.
"This is a key lesson we are learning in Afghanistan today ... we need an entirely new compact between all the actors on the security stage," he said at a major security conference in Munich, southern Germany.
"India has a stake in Afghan stability. China too. And both could help further develop and rebuild Afghanistan. The same goes for Russia. Basically, Russia shares ourr security concerns," he said Nato and its partners have more than 110,000 troops in Afghanistan, but they have been unable to put down the insurgency more than eight years after a US-led coalition ousted the Taliban from power. Under a recent switch of strategy, almost 40,000 extra troops are streaming into the conflict-torn country, aiming to protect civilians and win their support, rather than hunt down fighters, many re-supplied from Pakistan.
Following last month's conference in London, the strategy also involves a "surge" of civilian experts, backed by redoubled efforts from major donors, financial institutions and bodies like the United Nations and European Union.
"We cannot meet today's security requirements effectively without engaging much more actively and systematically with other important players on the international scene," Rasmussen said. "The alliance should become the hub of a network of security partnerships and a centre for consultation on international security issues - even issues on which the alliance might never take action," he went on.
"What would be the harm if countries such as China, India, Pakistan and others were to develop closer ties with Nato? I think, in fact, there would only be a benefit, in terms of trust, confidence and co-operation."
Rasmussen underlined that he did not seek to replace the work of the United Nations, and his stance was backed by German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. "We don't want to enter into any competition with the United Nations," the minister said. "We don't want to turn Nato into a global security agency."
Rasmussen said he envisaged a forum in which Nato and its partners world-wide could air views and concerns, and exchange best practice. "And where, if it makes sense - if we decide that Nato should have a role - we might work out how to tackle global challenges together." Nato has 28 member nations, but its partnership involves 44 countries in Afghanistan, as well as ties with other regional fora, such as the group of Mediterranean nations.