Rome, Dr. Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs and Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme Defense Council, met with Mircea Geoana, the NATO Deputy Secretary General. The meeting came on the sidelines of the conference of the Italian Society of International Organizations (SIOI), marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO. Dr. Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed expressed Bahrain's keenness on further developing cooperation and partnership with NATO to contribute to enhancing regional and international security, noting the kingdom's hosting of the 5th Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Policy Advisory Group Meeting last year. The two sides reviewed developments in the situation in the Middle East region, and the prospects for strategic cooperation in light of the positive results achieved within the framework of the "Individual Partnership and Cooperation Program" over the past years. The meeting also discussed ways to develop coop eration frameworks between the two sides, in addition to issues of common interest. Source: Bahrain News Agency