After the Second World War the Mediterranean gained a new importance in the context of a broader concept of security. NATO decided to play a role in the southern Mediterranean countries since the stability of this region, so different from the northern part, proved to be vital to the security of the alliance. Having this in mind, NATO created a dialogue initiative, the Mediterranean Dialogue, with the objective of contributing to “security and stability in the Mediterranean (…) to achieve a better mutual understanding and to correct any misunderstandings of the Alliance's purposes…”. It is not only the history behind this dialogue initiative - not yet a partnership - but also its successful development, that is addressed in this text.