On 25th November 2011, the graduation ceremony of the sixth NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-6) took place at the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome.
The NRCC is a ten-week course focusing on security challenges in the Middle East and North African regions, open to government and military officials from within NATO, the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), as well as from other interested nations. The syllabus comprises a variety of topics related to the regional political and security environment, which are analysed by invited lecturers from the Middle East and NATO countries. The final week is dedicated to the Crisis Management Exercise (CMX), where participants have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have gained during the course.
In his NRCC-6 graduation address the Commandant of the NDC, Lieutenant General Arne Bård DALHAUG, underlined how significant it was that this edition of the course should have taken place against such a rapidly evolving international background in the MENA region – with the implications of the Arab Spring beginning to emerge more clearly, the NATO operation in Libya already under way, and the re-awakening of the Arab League marking another important trend in international relations.
The aim of the NRCC is to bridge gaps, dispel misconceptions, and create mutual understanding between NATO and its Partner countries. In this respect, LtGen. DALHAUG explained during his graduation address that “understanding, but not being understood, is not the same as understanding, and knowing you are understood. Make no mistake – understanding does not mean agreeing”.
Among the distinguished guests at the ceremony was the Spanish Ambassador to Italy, His Excellency Ambassador Alfonso Lucini MATEO. NDC leadership and staff were also present to witness the delivery of the diplomas to the Course Members by the Commandant, the Dean of the NDC, Dr Richard D. HOOKER, and the Director of the NRCC, Colonel Sandy GUPTILL.
NRCC-6 saw the graduation of 25 participants from 14 different nations. The largest NRCC course to date, it was the first to be attended by a participant from Pakistan as well as by diplomats from Egypt and Tunisia.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Kyla Cham, CAN C)
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN 
