In recent years, there has been a major debate among policymakers in North America and Europe about the future of NATO. One issue the leaders of the alliance need to address is what its role in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region should be. While not strictly part of its area of responsibility, NATO cannot ignore the MENA region. Historical and recent events show that what happens there can quickly spill over into Europe. A decade after the start of the so-called Arab Spring, many geopolitical challenges remain in the region, from the rise of transnational terrorism to the nuclear threat and state-sponsored terrorism from Iran. Many in NATO have, therefore, rightly decided to place a renewed focus on working with regional partners on the southern periphery of the alliance. NATO already has structures in place to improve cooperation with partners in this part of the world but has done little to enhance these relationships in recent years. The organization carries out cooperative security tasks with its southern partners through two mechanisms: The Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative. The alliance has done little to enhance its relationships with partners in this part of the world in recent years Luke Coffey Launched in 1994, the Mediterranean Dialogue forms the basis of NATO’s relations with its Mediterranean partners: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. Although talks generally take place on a bilateral basis between NATO and one Mediterranean partner (NATO+1), on occasion the forum meets as NATO+7. This places Israel at the same table as some of its regional neighbors, where it would not otherwise be. The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, which was launched in 2004, currently forms the basis of NATO’s relations with the Gulf states. Although all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council were invited to join, as yet only Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE have done so. NATO’s 2010 “Strategic Concept,” which runs to 40 pages and was intended to serve as a guide for dealing with future challenges, is now woefully out of date. The MENA region is barely mentioned in the document. The alliance is in the process of developing a new version and should use this as an opportunity to enhance and build on its relations in the region. NATO leaders need to develop a strategy to engage with the region. Partnership leads to interoperability, which helps to promote understanding and security. As Iran becomes more of a destabilizing force, and transnational terrorism continues to plague the region, the alliance should build solid and enduring relations with friendly MENA countries. • Luke Coffey is the director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation. Twitter: @LukeDCoffey • This is the executive summary of the latest research report published by the Arab News Research & Studies Unit. Download the full report. Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point-of-view