The present-day NATO has nothing in common with the Alliance that existed after the cold war, a senior NATO official said.

“Today, NATO is charged with the task to secure stability in Balkans and Afghanistan, combat terrorism and piracy, cooperate with other internationals organizations,” Jean-Francious Bureau, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, said during the seminar on Improving Public Perceptions on NATO Operations and Security/Defense Sector Reform.

He emphasized that the Alliance is developing in two dimensions: military and political, the priority of public diplomacy being to raise awareness about the Alliance and its activity.

The main lesson the Alliance derived from Kosovo and Afghanistan is that NATO should not conduct similar missions without clearly understanding the interests of the population, according to Mr. Bureau.

He also informed that in November 2010 NATO is expected to approve the Alliance’s new strategic concept, which covers all future plans and actions. “Civil society representatives were also engaged in the concept development process, what proves that NATO is willing to listen to the public opinion before taking new decisions.