On Wednesday 23 October 2013, NDC Commandant LtGen Arne Bård Dalhaug (NOR A) was pleased to welcome the Norwegian Atlantic Committee (NAC) to the College.
The visit began with a first briefing on the College, by the Director of Management, Cmdre Harald Hakonsen (NOR N). He described the NDC’s mission and activities and identified the objectives and main features of the courses run by the College.
The NAC delegation then joined Senior Course 123 for a lecture given by LtGen (ret) P.J.M. (Jo) Godderij (NLD F), entitled “How NATO Works,” which was followed by a Q&A session.
Later, Dr Heidi Reisinger (DEU C), from the NDC Research Division, hosted the NAC in a specialized briefing on “NATO’s Partnership Policy after 2014”.
This visit was an excellent opportunity for the NAC delegation to better understand the role of the NDC as NATO’s premier academic institution.
On Thursday 24 October 2013, the Norwegian delegation met the Italian Atlantic Committee, headed by Secretary General Dr Luciolli, as well as the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Franco Frattini, who is also Italy’s candidate for the position of NATO SecGen.
The Norwegian Atlantic Committee (NAC) was established in 1955, following a decision taken by the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Norwegian Parliament. The Committee is politically independent and works towards furthering the wider understanding of Norway’s foreign, defence and security policy, with a particular emphasis on US-European relations and North-Atlantic cooperation.
The NAC organizes conferences, seminars, roundtables and regional courses on security policy for teachers, study trips for journalists and researchers, as well as a number of other major events, alone or with external partners from academia or the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Committee also seeks to gain an understanding of Norwegian foreign and security policy abroad, through meetings, conferences, individual study trips, and group excursions abroad. During the last decade the Committee has been working with a broader definition of “security”, which focuses not only on Norwegian defence and transatlantic security cooperation, but also on topics such as geo-economics, regional integration and disintegration, energy security, disarmament, terrorism, human rights, and civil defence. In view of current events and challenges, the NAC has broadened its geographic fields of interest to include the Arctic, Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, the wider Middle East and East Central Asia, as well as China.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Monica Fornari, ITA C)
NATO Defense College