A Kuwaiti delegation visited the NATO Defense College on 30 March 2010.
The delegation, warmly welcomed by the Commandant of the College, Lieutenant General Wolf-Dieter Loeser, was led by Sheikh Thamer Al-Sabah, Vice President of the Kuwait National Security Bureau, and consisted of nine dignitaries and general officers.
The delegates included Sheikh Fawaz Mishal Al-Sabah, Director of the International Relations Department at the National Security Bureau, Brigadier General Abdulrahman Al-Hadhoud, Director of the Directorate of Intelligence (Ministry of Defence), Major General Fahad Al-Sharqawi, Director General of Saad Al-Abdullah College for Security Studies (Ministry of the Interior), the Commandant of the Kuwaiti Defence College, the Commandant of the National Security College and the Commandant of Military Education.
The delegation participated in a roundtable and was briefed by Lt. Gen. Wolf-Dieter Loeser on NDC aims and main activities. The Kuwaiti representatives also took part in College life by attending a discussion among the Course Members scheduled in the NRCC program.
Tomorrow Sheik Thamer Al-Sabah, the head of the delegation, will present a keynote lecture on “Gulf Security and NATO’s Cooperation with the Countries from GCC”.
The goal of the two day-visit was to discuss the resumption of Kuwaiti participation in NDC courses, particularly the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC) run by the NATO Defense College Middle East Faculty and established in 2009 to develop closer networking between the Alliance and Gulf Countries. Two Kuwaiti Course Members have already attended the Senior Course in recent years, and one Kuwaiti representative is expected to attend the next Generals, Flag Officers & Ambassadors’ Course at the NDC.
The visit was therefore a unique occasion to add a new voice to the debate on the Middle East in the NRCC arena; a new country participating could foster dialogue and increment the pluralism of the NRCC forum.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Roberta Lusardi, ITA C)
NATO Defense College