On 30 September, the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome inaugurated the tenth NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC 10).
Attended by 27 participants from 13 countries, NRCC 10 will run until 6 December. For the first time, the Republic of Moldova is among the nations represented on this strategic-level course.
The NRCC is held twice a year and is organized by the NDC’s Middle East Faculty (MEF), which was created in 2009 and is currently led by Col Giuseppe MORABITO (ITA A). Dedicated Faculty Advisors within the MEF, who have studied and worked in the Maghreb, Mashreq and Gulf area, ensure the required academic quality for courses of this level. The NRCC features invited lecturers who come mostly from the Middle East or have extensive knowledge of the region; for some parts of the NRCC, lectures are shared with the NDC’s Senior Course.
The recently appointed NDC Dean, Dr Daria DANIELS SKODNIK (SVN C), welcomed NRCC participants, introducing them to the course. The guest speaker for the inauguration of NRCC 10 was Dr Florence Gaub (FRA/DEU), senior analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies and former MEF researcher. She delivered a thought-provoking Lecture of Opportunity entitled “Culture in International Relations”. Following Dr Gaub’s lecture, the Inauguration Ceremony concluded with the official address by the NDC Commandant, Lt Gen Arne Bård DALHAUG (NOR A).
A major educational instrument for the promotion of outreach to NATO Partner Countries in the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), the Partnership for Peace (PfP), the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and the broader Middle East, the NRCC focuses on issues that are relevant not only to the Alliance and to the region concerned, but also to the international community as a whole. Consistent with this broad aim, the main emphasis is on analysis of common security concerns.
The course was created in the aftermath of the Riga Summit in 2006, when NATO Heads of State and Government decided to promote not only closer dialogue with Partner Countries, but also greater cooperation in the field of education. Those eligible to participate are officers of the rank of Brigadier General, Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel, as well as civilian officials and diplomats of equivalent rank from security-related areas of civil government such as ministries of defence and foreign affairs.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Monica Fornari, ITA C)
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN 
