A NATO SFA COE delegation participated in the annual Military Strategic Partnership Conference 2023 (MSPC 2023), from the 13rd of March to the 17th March 2023, in Doha, Qatar.
The objectives for the Conference were to advance NATO partnership processes and programmes and provide solutions to 2023/24 Partner Capitals’ ambitions for Education, Training, Exercise and Evaluation (ETEE). The Conference was organized into panel discussions about the main partnership topics of interest, with an exhibition of NATO and Partner Nation’s Training and Education facilities accessible for Partner Nations and a Professional Development session for Partner Nation Command Senior Enlisted Leaders (CSEL).
The NATO SFA COE Director and the LL Branch Department Head participated in the first panel “NATO Advisory and Assistance Support for Partners. The Way Ahead”. In this panel the Director illustrated the pivotal role of Security Force Assistance within the context of Capacity Building as emerging in the new 2022 NATO Strategic Concept. He emphasized the underpinning principles of SFA and how they support the NATO efforts in implementing the NATO’s core tasks and core polices. Furthermore, he complemented his intervention with the representative of the Finnish Defence Forces International Centre (FINCENT), namely the Department Head of the Military Contribution to Peace Support (MC2PS) NATO Discipline, stressing the importance of the Human Capital development for Advisors, Mentors and Trainers as a fundamental asset for Defence Capacity Building and wider concepts of Assistance.
During the conference, the SFA COE’s Training and Education Branch representatives also manned a dedicated exhibition desk along with other NATO Education Training Facilities (NETFs), Partnership Training and Education Centres (PTECs) and Centres of Excellence (COEs).
The SFA COE delivered paper and digital information to the NATO Partners delegation and participated in the dedicated session of ePrime updates and instructions. Furthermore, the SFA COE delegates were invited to provide Subject Matter Expert support during the bilateral meetings with several NATO Partners such as Iraq, BiH, Moldovia, Giordania and Tunisia.
During the MSPC, the NATO SFA COE had the opportunity to introduce the Centre to a wider audience of partner nations and to enlarge its Community of Interest. In particular, the fruitful interaction with Partners and supporting agencies accentuated the SFA role to promote partnerships outside NATO boundaries aiming to improve regional security mechanisms in more benign environments, and even to help partner countries strengthen their capacity to tackle their own security, defence reforms and to participate in international missions.
