The inauguration ceremony of the eighteenth edition of the NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC 18) was held today at the NATO Defense College in Rome.
For the occasion, General Chris Whitecross, commander of the NDC, welcomed General Salvatore Farina, commander of the NATO Joint Forces Command of Brunssum (Holland), who presided over the event with an "Inauguration Lecture" at the College Auditorium.
The NRCC was established in 2009, and since then - General Whitecross underlined - has been recognized by NATO leaders as a cornerstone of the Alliance's commitment to Partner Countries.
The NRCC course, one of the most important educational programs offered by NDC, includes 46 participants from 20 countries, including NATO member states, countries participating in the program Partnership for Peace (PfP), to the program Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), below Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and members belonging to other partner countries.
The objectives of the course include strengthening international dialogue and cooperation on the security and stability of the Middle East region: disseminating knowledge about the historical and political reality of the area: developing the analytical capacity of participants through discussions and debates and the analysis of the key points regarding the relationship between the Atlantic Alliance and the Middle East. In pointing out these goals, the College Commander also recalled that there is no doubt that the stability and security of NATO countries is crucial to the rest of the world, and therefore the same principle applies to the Middle East and its partners.
Subsequently the commander spoke to General Farina, the main speaker of the event, for his inaugural lecture.
During his speech, General Farina illustrated the alliance's adaptation process to face the new challenges, offering the perspective of Brunssum's joint operational commander.
In particular, in exposing the 3 focus core tasks of NATO: Collective Defense, Crisis Response Operations e Cooperative Security, General Farina stressed that prevention, deterrence and dialogue should always accompany any adaptation measure of the Alliance.
Equally important is the role of NATO in the Cooperative Security and support for the fight against terrorism.
Hence, credible, ready and well-trained forces should be provided together with clear messages and non-escalating and non-provoking initiatives.
Finally, responding to specific questions, JFC Brunssum commander praised the decision to form the HUB for the South in the twin command of Naples, recognition of the initiative of the countries of the south side and clear success of the leadership Italian in carrying forward that proposal.
