The eigth NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-8) was welcomed at NATO Headquarters by Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Ambassador Dirk Brengelmann, for a two-day programme that included meetings with NATO officials and Permanent Representatives on the North Atlantic Council.
The NRCC-8 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 new Partnership Policy by Dr Jaroslaw Skonieczka, Senior Director, Integration, Partnership and Cooperation Directorate, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, on NATO’s Military Cooperation in the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative by Major General Carlos Branco, Director Cooperation and Regional Secruity Division, International Military Staff, on NATO’s Operation in Libya and Afghanistan by Major General Marcel Druart, Director Operations Division, NATO International Military Staff, on NATO-Russia relations by Dr Petr Lunak, Deputy Head, Engagement Section, Public Diplomacy Division, on NATO’s Reform and Command structure by Major General Neeme Väli, Director Plans and Policy, NATO International Military Staff, and by Mr. Guenther Bretschneider, Head of the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) in NATO’s Operations Division.
The visit also included a series of high-level meetings with the NATO Deputy Secretary General, H.E. Alexander Vershbow, with General Knud Bartels, Chairman of the North Atlantic Military Committee, and with several Representatives of Allied Nations, notably with H.E. Ambassador Riccardo Sessa, the Permanent Representative of Italy on the North Atlantic Council, with H.E. Ambassador Joâo Mira Gomes, the Permanent Representative of Portugal on the North Atlantic Council, with H.E. Ambassador José De Carvajal, the Permanent Representative of Spain on the North Atlantic Council, with H.E. Ambassador Frank Majoor, the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands on the North Atlantic Council, with Mr Joseph Manso, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States of America on the North Atlantic Council, and with Mr Ekkehard Brose, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany 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 eigth NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-8) has 40 participants, from Algeria, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Netherlands, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, and the USA.
