As a further comparison, the secretariat of the Council for Environmental Cooperation (the organization set up as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to facilitate coordination of environmental protection in the three countries) employs fewer than 50. Finally, energy security issues are of prime importance to political leadership and it was widely believed that national energy security would be compromised by regional energy trade diat creates import dependency on neighbouring countries. Political and policy mindset was thus working against regional energy connectivity until very recendy. This will have to change if energy connectivity is to take root in the Regjon.