On October 1st, the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome inaugurated the Eighth NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC 8).
The NRCC is a major educational instrument for the promotion of outreach to NATO Partner Countries belonging to the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and the broader Middle East. This 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, but also greater cooperation in the field of education. Unlike other courses at the College, the NRCC sets out to focus specifically on issues that are of concern to NATO, MD and ICI nations, thus improving mutual understanding and networking among participants.
This Course lasts 10 weeks and is held twice a year, with invited lecturers who come mostly from the Middle East region. Key features of the NRCC are that it has its own facilities within the NDC and is conducted by dedicated Faculty Advisors who – having studied and worked in the Maghreb, Mashreq and Gulf area – can ensure the required academic quality for a Course of this level. Some lectures are shared with the Senior Course.
The wider objective of the NRCC is to address issues which are urgent both for the broader Middle East region and for the international community as a whole. To achieve this goal, the Course is centred on strategic political-military analysis of common security concerns.
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 ministries such as the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Eleonora Fuser, ITA C)
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN