NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday the bloc wants to strengthen its relationship with partner countries like Finland and Sweden.

NATO would like to make the relationship with partner countries more politically significant, Rasmussen told the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat in an interview at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"I am preparing to reform our partnership and make it more dynamic and thus more significant to the partner countries," Rasmussen said.

He pledged that NATO will listen to the opinions of Finland and other partner countries when drafting its new strategy.

Rasmussen said that Finland and Sweden have joined in the decision-making related to Afghanistan as the two countries have participated in crisis management there.

The NATO chief will attend a seminar held in Helsinki on Thursday. The seminar is co-hosted by Finland and Sweden, with the theme being Comprehensive Approach to Crisis Management.