After three years, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Partnership Training and Education Centres (PTEC) network was brought together again to exchange expertise, forge new links and discuss further synergies in the key domain of military education and training during the Marketplace which took place on 15 and 16 November 2022 at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
The Public Affairs Regional Centre was one of the 27 PTECs (out of 34 centres) present at the NATO Headquarters, taking the opportunity to present its academic activities, development plans and to explore and define the ways to strengthen the cooperation with the PTECs in the area of education and training. Along with the Marketplace exhibition event, on 15 November there was a PTEC WG organized to discuss the possibility of PTEC centers to meet the NATO Education and Training needs and requirements in their respective area of expertise as well as to further develop the mutual cooperation.
In his opening remarks, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană thanked the PTECs for their “fantastic work for our Alliance” and highlighted their role as key security providers through education and training activities. He talked about the importance of building “a world which is safe and at peace and where NATO continues to be the linchpin of transatlantic and global security. That’s your mission”, Mr. Geoană told PTEC representatives.
Faced with rising strategic competition and growing security challenges, NATO and its partners are cooperating ever more closely to better anticipate and prevent crises and conflicts, boost societal resilience, and protect their shared values. The Deputy Secretary General emphasized that the unique expertise that PTECs bring to the Alliance is a highly valued asset that NATO will continue to tap into.
Other key speakers at the opening event included the Director General of the NATO International Military Staff, Lieutenant General Janusz Adamczak, the high Military representative of the Ukrainian delegation to NATO, Major General Serhii Salkutsan and the Commandant of the NATO School, Colonel Jay Smith.
