On 27 April 2018, the graduation ceremony for the nineteenth NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-19) took place at the NDC.
Dignitaries and representatives of the diplomatic and defence communities in Rome, the NDC leadership and staff were present to witness the conferment of Course Members’ diplomas by the Dean BGen (ret.) František Mičánek (CZE) and the Director of the Middle East Faculty Col Filippo Bonsignore (ITA A).
The graduation lecture was delivered by Lieutenant General Pietro Serino, Commander, Education, Specialization and Military Training within the Italian General Staff. He stated: “The Course you have completed is the Alliance’s major educational outreach activity towards the Mediterranean Dialogue, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative countries and partners from the broader region of the Middle East. Since it began in 2009, the NRCC has been attended by more than five hundred participants from over thirty-five nations, in order to promote a closer dialogue and intensified cooperation.”
The overall aim of the NRCC is to enhance cultural awareness within NATO nations, and between the Alliance and its partners. With as many as 45 of the Course Members representing countries in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, the Mediterranean Dialogue and the Partnership for Peace, as well as Global Partner countries (Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan), NRCC attendance shows a very positive trend in terms of the Course’s inclusiveness.
NDC Public Affairs Office
NATO Defense College