Visit to NATO HQ of the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-11)
On 27-28 March 2014, the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC) visited NATO Headquarters on a Field Study visit, organised by the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division (PASP).
The eleventh NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-11) was welcomed at NATO Headquarters by the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division and NATO’s International Military Staff for a two-day programme at NATO Headquarters and at SHAPE that included meetings with NATO officials and Permanent Representatives on the North Atlantic Council.
The NRCC-11 received briefings on NATO’s New Strategic Concept, the Mediterranean and the Middle East by Mr. Nicola de Santis, Head, Middle East and North Africa Section, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, on NATO’s Military Cooperation in the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative by Brigadier General Ivan Caruso, Deputy Director, Cooperation and Regional Security Division, International Military Staff, on NATO’s New Partnership Policy by Dr Jaroslaw Skoniezka, Senior Director, Integration, Partnership and Cooperation Directorate, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, on NATO’s Planning Process by Rear Admiral Raolo Sandalli, Deputy Director, Plans and Policy, International Military Staff, and on New Emerging Security Challenges by Dr Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary General, Emerging Security Challenges Division.
The visit also included a series of high-level meetings with the NATO Deputy Secretary General, H.E. Alexander Vershbow, and General Kund Bartels, Chairman of the North Atlantic Military Committee, as well as with several Representatives of Allied Nations, notably with H.E. Gabriele Checchia, Permanent Representative of Italy on the North Atlantic Council and H.E. Ambassador Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, Permanent Representative of Turkey on the North Atlantic Council.
The NRCC is a direct response to NATO's HOSG decision in Riga in 2006 to launch the NATO Training Cooperation Initiative with the countries from the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), and the success of the NRCC is demonstrated by the growing interest from regional states. The eleventh NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-11) has 33 participants, from Algeria, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Spain, Tunisia, and the United States.