The African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Said Djinnit, visited NATO Headquarters on 2 March 2007. During this visit, he met with NATO Secretary-General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and addressed the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principal decision-making body. This is the second visit of an AU official after that of the Chairman of the AU Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare in May 2005.

These visits marked the willingness of the AU to progressively set-up a long-term partnership with NATO in the capacity-building and training areas. The implication of NATO and particularly its commitment to Africa’s stability is very recent. In that regard, since July 2005, NATO provided airlift in and out of Dafur for almost 24,000 AU peacekeepers, as well as training to African military observers and other AU-led mission officers to Darfur. Through this cooperation, NATO became a considerable actor in the stability of Africa. However, the direct implication of NATO in Africa through sending troops to undertake stability or peacekeeping operations is not foreseeable in the near future.