Norwegian Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold said Thursday she wanted closer cooperation with Austria on security, reported Reuters. Devold and her Austrian counterpart Guenther Platter decided Wednesday to set up a bilateral working group on security, she told Austria Press Agency. Norway and Austria have a lot in common, said Devold, adding both are mountainous countries with large influential neighbours - a reference to Sweden and Germany. She also pointed to the fact that Norway, a renowned peace broker, and Austria, a neutral E.U. member, often participate in the same UN- or NATO-led peacekeeping missions. Present examples include Afghanistan and Kosovo Also, both Austria and Norway have plans to contribute similar numbers of personnel to proposed new E.U. battle groups - Norway to a Swedish-coordinated group, Austria to one coordinated by Germany. Discussions Wednesday, spurred by last year's Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, centred on increased cooperation in military, police and civilian operations in international crisis situations. The Norwegian minister invited Austria, along with Sweden and Finland, to send a liaison officer to NATO's Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) at Stavanger in Norway. The role of Stavanger centre is to draw up blueprints for the future development and modernization of NATO's command structure. Norway is a member of NATO, Austria is not. --SP 1409 Local Time 1109 GMT
