General Abrial kicks off partner conference
The 2011 Strategic Military Partner Conference (SMPC) began 14 of June in Belgrade, Serbia chaired by Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, French Air Force General Stephane Abrial.
Chairman of the Military Committee, Italian Navy Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola (left), Supreme Allied Commander Transformation French Air Force General Stephane Abrial (centre) and Serbia Chief of Defence, General Miloje Miletic (right)
Attendees included the Serbian Minister of Defence, Dragan Sutanovac, the Chairman of the Military Committee, Italian Navy Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, General Hakan Syren, and the Chiefs of Defence staff or their representatives from approximately 60 countries.
The conference was organized by Allied Command Transformation and hosted by the Serbian Chief of Defence staff, General Miloje Milotic.
SMPC is an annual event that offers the military leadership of both NATO and its partners the opportunity to share views and experiences on the evolving global security environment and its challenges.
With the overarching theme of “Post Lisbon: Delivering Transformation”, attendees exchanged ideas on how to address these challenges, both by implementing the Summit’s decisions and by looking toward the future.
The contribution of partnerships to transformation, how to respond to emerging threats, doctrine and training were among the topics discussed at the Strategic Military Partner Conference this year. Participants also discussed how to develop cooperation on innovative approaches to capability development against the background of difficult budgetary choices.