Partnership for Peace Information Management System (PIMS) is a US Department of Defense Bilateral Cooperative Development Program started in 1996 to enable collaboration and communication between Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries and the NATO community. General information PIMS is a US bilateral program which supports US-Partner relations and PfP mission through Information technology. The mission of the PIMS is to enable efficient reliable information exchange between PfP countries and the NATO community - a key first step in the orderly process of incorporating Partners into NATO initiatives. It aims at facilitating the rapid communications and coordination required to support individual PfP objectives as well as the overall goals of the PfP Program. By extending economical communications connectivity and an automated means for common access to information, PIMS is expected to support an environment conducive to multinational cooperation in Europe. The Program was established on the premise that each Partner has relevant and pertinent information to contribute and is also in the best position to determine its own information requirements. Collaborative database development provides the practical approach to leverage information resources for all coalition partners. O&M cost sharing provides an economical means of accommodating individual needs for processing, connectivity, maintenance, system familiarization, and other technical services, when PIMS hardware is required. The terms of both arrangements are implemented through Memorandum of Agreement between US DOD and PIMS-installed Partners. Organization PIMS is a virtual organization that includes users from the USA and across Eurasia. The PIMS Program is managed by SPAWAR Systems Center Charleston, European Division, located in Stuttgart, Germany. 10 In-Country Coordinators (ICCs) in PfP partner countries round out the PIMS team. Participating PfP Countries As of July 2010, the following PfP countries participate in the PIMS program: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Participating countries in the past include Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkmenistan. All of these, but Turkmenistan, have eventually joined NATO. History and background 1996 - Established as a US Department of Defense Bilateral Cooperative Development Program with NATO PfP Partner Nations. 1997 - Installations in: Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, AF North, Marshall Center 1998 - Installations in: Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, EUCOM, JHQ NE, Kazakhstan (Almaty), Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, RHQ AFNO, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Uzbekistan 1999 - Installations in: Baltic Defense College, Georgia, HQ NAVSOUTH, JHQ CENTCOM, SEEBRIG, SOUTHLANT, Turkmenistan 2001