Qatar signs security agreement with NATO

Qatar and NATO have signed a security agreement that will establish a framework for protection of the exchange of classified information.

Brigadier General Tariq Khalid M. F. Alobaidli, head of the Qatari Armed Forces international military cooperation department and NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller signed the deal ceremony at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday.

The move follows similar agreements signed between NATO and Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates under the framework of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.

Launched in 2004, the ICI covers cooperation between the alliance and Middle Eastern countries in areas such as counter-terrorism, military exercises, training and other security initiatives.