The summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) opened in Brussels Tuesday morning with coordination of its training mission in Iraq, the peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan and the future of the NATO alliance high on the agenda.

The one-day summit, widely seen as a reconciliation meeting following the rift between Europe and the United States over the Iraq war, was attended by leaders of all 26 NATO member states and its Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Scheffer said: "This meeting is both timely and important for the strengthening of transatlantic relations. NATO operations, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Hindukush, support our shared values while defending our populations and territories from today's security challenges -- terrorism, fragile and failed states and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

The NATO chief also committed the organization to bringing peace and security to Afghanistan and Iraq.

"In Iraq, all 26 allies are working together to respond to the Iraqi government's request for support by training Iraqi security forces, providing equipment and helping to fund NATO's efforts," he said.

He said the summit meeting will give new impetus to NATO's political evolution which will accelerate in the coming months and years as NATO "strengthens its role in shaping and delivering transatlantic security cooperation in the 21st century."

Earlier, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder suggested that a panel of high-level experts be formed to provide options for the reform of the 56-year-old NATO.

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2005)