This morning, the NATO Defense College was honoured by the presence of the President of the Republic of Hungary, Mr. Pál Schmitt, warmly welcomed by the Commandant Lieutenant General Wolf-Dieter Loeser and the Director of Management of the College, Brigadier General György Juhász (Senior Hungarian Representative).
President Schmitt delivered a most stimulating lecture to Senior Course 118, followed by the closing remarks of Commandant Loeser and an exchange of gifts.
The President afterwards spent time with leading members of the Hungarian Community,including the Ambassador to Italy, Mr Janos Balla, the Ambassador to the Vatican, Mr Györiványi Gábor, and Brigadier General Juhász.
This was the first visit to the NATO Defense College by a Hungarian President and highlights the importance the College attaches to its cooperation with the Republic of Hungary.
In the late morning the College was honoured by the visit of another important political dignitary, the Armenian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Arman Kirakossian. He gave a lecture entitled “Problems of Regional Security and Cooperation in the South Caucasus: a view from Yerevan”, attended by Senior Course 118.
The close cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the NATO Defense College is clearly shown by the presence of Armenians on the Senior Course, with 14 participants attending since 1990.
LtCol. Mario Masdea, Chief Public Affairs and Protocol Officer, ITA-A
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN 
