Memorandum Of Understanding Between The Government Of The Republic Of Latvia And The NATO Maintenance And Supply Organization On Logistic Support Co-Operation

This memorandum of understanding constitutes the legal foundation for the establishment between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization of the logistics relations set out in the following articles.

Preamble

Whereas:

Latvia , , having accepted the invitation to join the Partnership for Peace (PfP) and having signed and subscribed to the Partnership for Peace Framework Document on 14th February 1994, is a partner country in the said Partnership for Peace;

the Ministry of Defence of Latvia has expressed interest in the services offered by the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization within the framework of its Programmes and Weapon System Partnerships;

the Ministry of Defence of Latvia is entering into negotiations with the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization with a view to establishing co-operation in certain areas of logistic support;

the Board of Directors of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization has consented to furnish Latvia with logistic support services (as hereinafter specified);

the Board of Directors of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization has recognized more especially, in the context of co-operation with this NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) country, the concern of the NATO nations to minimize the costs of the programmes of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency that are common to the member countries, this being one of the objectives laid down in the Charter of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization;

the North Atlantic Council has endorsed the recommendations of the Board of Directors of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization on the conclusion of a support agreement with Latvia , on the understanding that entry into such agreement will under no circumstances confer on Latvia the status of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or entitle Latvia to lay claim to such status;

the Board of Directors of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization has authorized the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency General Manager to sign this Memorandum of Understanding;

The Government of the Republic of Latvia and the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization, hereinafter referred to as "the Parties", have reached an understanding on the provision of logistic support based on the provisions set out hereunder.

Definitions/Abbreviations

In the text of this memorandum of understanding and in that of the ensuing specific agreements:

— "NATO" signifies the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;

— "NAMSO" signifies the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization;

— "NAMSA" signifies the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency;

— "PfP " signifies the Partnership for Peace instituted at the NATO summit held in Brussels on 10–11 January 1994;

— "technical information" means recorded or documented information of a scientific or technical nature, whatever the format, documentary characteristics or medium of presentation. This information may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: experimental and test data, specifications, designs and design processes, inventions and discoveries whether patentable or not, technical descriptions and other works of a technical nature, semiconductor topography/mask works, technical and manufacturing data packages, know-how and trade secrets and information relating to industrial techniques. It may be presented in the form of documents, pictorial reproductions, drawings and other graphic representations, disk and film recordings (optical, magnetic and laser), computer software both programmatic and data base, and computer memory printouts or data retained in computer memory, or any other form;

— "WSP" signifies a weapon system partnership.

Article 1

Purpose

This memorandum of understanding establishes a formal framework for the provision of logistics services in well-defined areas including, but not restricted to, supply, maintenance, procurement of goods and services, transportation, configuration control and technical assistance.

Article 2

Implementation

2.1 Implementation of the memorandum of understanding will require specific written agreements to be drawn up, such as sales agreements, service provision agreements, WSP agreements or others.

2.2 It is understood that agreements such as referred to in para. 2.1 and WSP membership may require the prior approval of the Ministry of Defence of Latvia and will require the approval of the NAMSO Board of Directors and of the country of origin of the weapon systems or equipments involved.

Article 3

Financial Arrangements

3.1 No financial liability will be borne by or attributed to the Parties in connection with this memorandum of understanding unless otherwise consented to subsequently by virtue of an agreement such as referred to in para. 2.1 covering a specific field of activity and tasking.

3.2 It is, however, understood that Latvia , as a customer, will bear the cost of services requested of and rendered by NAMSO after the Parties sign an agreement, including costs incurred in the event of termination, covered under Article 11.

Article 4

Liability, Warranty and Insurance

4.1 Each Party receiving materiels or services under this memorandum of understanding will waive all claims for injury (including injury resulting in death), loss or damage, when such injury, loss or damage arises from the normal use and/or operation of such materiels or services.

4.2 The Parties will afford each other mutual protection against any claim or action of whatever nature brought by any third party against one of the two Parties, and finally will indemnify the supplier organisation against claims of the same nature made by third parties .

4.3 The waiver and the indemnity referred to in paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 will not apply in the event of wilful misconduct or gross negligence, nor in cases specifically covered in an agreement concluded between the two Parties.

4.4 Each agreement of the type referred to in para. 2.1 will detail the warranty covering the materiels or services to which it pertains, for each sector of activity and tasking involved.

4.5 Shipments arranged by NAMSO under such agreements will not normally be insured unless specifically requested by Latvia . The cost of such insurance as may be requested by Latvia will be reimbursed to NAMSO without delay.

Article 5

Management

5.1 The departments responsible for the management of this memorandum of understanding are indicated in the attached Annex.

5.2 For follow-on agreements referred to in para. 2.1, the Parties may designate specific points of contact.

Article 6

Security Requirements

6.1 The Parties will develop and implement a co-ordinated programme for industrial security based on C-M(55)15(Final)- Security within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

6.2 The Parties will notify each other of the security classification laid down by the originating Party with respect to any information or data to be supplied to the other Party under the terms of an agreement such as referred to in para. 2.1.

6.3 Any exchange of classified information, including contracts involving such information, must comply with the provisions set out in the security agreement concluded on 15th September 1994 between NATO and Latvia , and with the security requirements set out in C-M(55)15(Final) .

Article 7

Exchange of Technical Information subject

to Property Rights

7.1 Data and information to be transferred, released or otherwise exchanged under an agreement such as referred to in para. 2.1 and which are clearly identified by one or other of the Parties, by means of an appropriate stamp, legend or other written indication, as being covered by property rights, will be subject to the provisions set out hereunder.

7.2 Each of the two Parties undertakes:

(a) to use information belonging to the other Party only for the purposes of the agreements referred to in para. 2.1;

(b) to fully safeguard the confidentiality of information belonging to the other Party and to refrain from disclosing, transferring or otherwise making available such information to any third party;

(c) to treat information belonging to the other Party as classified information and to safeguard same by exercising the same care and applying the same controls with respect thereto as the recipient Party normally exercises and applies to protect its own information, in order to avoid inadvertent disclosure, publication, dissemination or transfer, and to take all necessary actions to ensure that only those employees of the recipient Party having a specific "need to know" will have access to information belonging to the other Party.

7.3 Information will not be deemed to be subject to property rights — and will give rise to no obligation on the part of the recipient Party — when that information:

(a) is within or enters the public domain due to no malicious or illicit act on the part of the recipient Party;

(b) has been supplied in a legitimate manner by a third party, without similar restrictions and without infringement of this memorandum of understanding;

(c) is approved for release or use by written authorization of the ceding Party.

7.4 Unless specifically agreed by the two Parties, nothing contained in the relevant agreements of the kind referred to in para. 2.1 will be deemed to grant any right or license in respect of any patents, inventions or data at any time owned by either of the Parties hereto.

Article 8

Visit Procedures

8.1 Representatives of the Parties will, on request, be granted access to governmental or private facilities where work, including tests and trials, is being carried out under an agreement concluded within the framework of this memorandum of understanding subject to the "need to know" of these representatives.

8.2 The organization of visits will comply with the Security Regulations laid down in Enclosure D to CM(55)15(Final) under the heading «International Visit Procedures ». All visitors will also comply with any additional and safety regulations laid down by the Host Party.Trade secrets and other technical information communicated to visitors will be treated as if they had been made available to the Party sponsoring the visitors.

Article 9

Language

The normal NATO policy of producing all official documents in English and French will be applied.

Article 10

Amendments

The provisions of this memorandum of understanding may be amended by written agreement of the Parties.

ARTICLE 11

Termination

11.1 If one of the Parties wishes to withdraw from this memorandum of understanding or from one of the follow-on agreements referred to in para 2.1, that Party will give the other Party six months’ written notice of its intention to do so.

11.2 In the event of withdrawal of one of the Parties from this memorandum of understanding or from one of the follow-on agreements referred to in para. 2.1, the Parties will consult with one other in a timely manner as to the most satisfactory withdrawal arrangements.

11.3 If required by the withdrawal notice, the Parties will negotiate, for each agreement of the kind referred to in para. 2.1, the earliest possible withdrawal date and the settlement of financial issues with respect to the ongoing tasks and services affected by the withdrawal. The Party withdrawing will meet in full its commitments up to the effective date of withdrawal.

11.4 If the Parties decide jointly to terminate the memorandum of understanding, they will jointly meet any termination costs.

11.5 The rights and responsibilities of the Parties regarding disclosure and use of technical information, security, sales and transfers to third parties, settlement of disputes, claims and liabilities and withdrawal and termination will continue, irrespective of a Party’s withdrawal from or termination of this memorandum of understanding or any follow-on agreement of the kind referred to in para. 2.1.

Article 12

Settlement of Disputes

Any differences arising between the Parties relating to the interpretation or application of this memorandum of understanding will be settled by negotiation between them without recourse to any outside jurisdiction or third party.

Article 13

Effective Date

This memorandum of understanding will come into effect on the date of the signature by the last Party.

Article 14

Signature

The foregoing articles represent the understandings reached between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and NAMSO. Two original copies, each drawn up in English and French, of this MOU are herewith signed, both language versions being deemed equally authentic.

On behalf of Government of the Republic of Latvia H.E. IMANTS LIEĢIS Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to NATO

On behalf of the NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization P.D. MARKEY General Manager

Date: 5 July 2000

Date:5 July 2000

Annex

The points of contact for all matters concerning the provisions of this memorandum of understanding are as follows:

— for Government of the Republic of Latvia:

The Latvian Delegation to NATO

B-1110 Brussels

Tel.: 0032 2 707 2888

Fax : 0032 2 707 2889

— for NAMSO:

The Legal Advisor

L-8302 Capellen, Luxembourg

Tel. 00352-3063 6554

Fax: 00352-30 87 21