State Department Co-Hosts NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund Workshop

Over 80 participants from 43 nations and other international organizations will discuss best practices for Trust Fund projects to retrain former military personnel, and the safe destruction of surplus munitions, small arms, light weapons, and Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS), often referred to as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.

The workshop will provide participants with an overview of the Trust Fund process and discuss the specific requirements of all states participating in projects. Presentations will include a case-study of a $7 million (5.3 million Euros) United States-led project in Ukraine, generously supported by the European Union and 16 nations, to destroy 1.5 million excess small arms and light weapons, and 133,000 tons of surplus munitions there - the largest arms destruction project in history. The United States will contribute an additional $2 million to help destroy larger-caliber weapons, and Ukraine has agreed to destroy 2,000 more of its MANPADS.

The NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund was established in 1999. Trust Fund projects (www.nato.int/pfp/trust-fund.htm), funded entirely through voluntary contributions, provide practical support for defense reform. The projects focus primarily on the destruction of excess and aging stockpiles of landmines, munitions, small arms and light weapons, and the retraining of military personnel no longer required as states reduce the size of their armed forces.

Seven Trust Fund projects have been successfully completed. New projects worth over $41 million (32 million Euros) are underway in Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine. The workshop will also discuss possible projects in Afghanistan and Jordan. All of these initiatives are part of NATO's practical contribution to combating terrorism, supporting nations' defense reforms, and safely destroying surplus conventional arms and munitions.

To learn more about the U.S. Department of State's efforts to support the NATO Partnership for Peace Trust Fund and other small arms/light weapon destruction efforts, visit the website of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at www.state.gov/t/pm/wra.