On Sunday 15 December, NDC Senior Course 135 visited the Mubarak Al Abdullah Joint Command and Staff College in Kuwait City.
The NDC delegation, led by Commandant LGEN Chris Whitecross, was warmly welcomed by BGEN Talab Khalifah Al Fleej, Director of the Mubarak Al Abdullah JCSC. He provided an insightful lecture about the College, about the changing security challenges in the complex Gulf region, and about Kuwait’s priorities in relation to these.
SC 135 then moved to the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. Senior Engineering Consultant Dr Mohammed Sadequi and Regional Manager for West African Countries Mr Thame Al-Failakawi explained how the Fund works, illustrating the role it has played in addressing development challenges since its foundation in 1961.
This was followed by a visit to the NATO–ICI Regional Centre, where the NDC delegation were honoured to meet H.E. Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah, President of the National Security Bureau. NDC Course Members were then briefed on three different topics. The first lecture was by Mr Fawaz Alothman of the National Security Bureau, Manager of the NATO-ICI Regional Centre. He spoke about the successful relationship between Kuwait and NATO, looking at the Centre’s vision, mission, objectives and achievements.
H.E. Nasser Al-Hain, Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organizations, then illustrated Kuwait’s foreign policy and the region’s security and political challenges, with special emphasis on the humanitarian role Kuwait plays in the international arena.
The last lecture was by Dr Zafer Alajmi, Director of the Gulf Monitoring Group. Analysing the geopolitical context of Kuwaiti policy, he dwelt on the State of Kuwait’s permanent quest for security against the background of the region’s political and security-related challenges.
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