On the 19th of July, as part of the Italian-led Framework Nations Concept initiative (the so called “ITA-FNC”), representatives from Albania, Austria, Hungary, Montenegro and Slovenia visited the NATO SFA COE.
Among the participants, there was also an observer from North Macedonia, who is currently in the process of becoming a future member of the group.
The event was promoted by Italian Defence General Staff, who attended the visit with a delegation led by Colonel Filippo QUAGLIATO. A representative from the Italian Army General Staff was present, as well.
Within NATO, the “Framework Nations Concept” is currently one of the main driving paradigms of multinational defense cooperation.
The Framework Nations Concept initiative, launched by NATO in 2014, aims to promote cooperation between European countries, through the willingness of groups of nations to establish a common work platform that will allow them to improve current military capabilities and develop new ones.
The Italian FNC group, last year, was completely renovated through a brand-new overall approach and in a more joint, proactive and cooperative way.
In short, starting from common objectives, the new goal of the ITA-FNC is to enhance the cooperation, the interoperability of forces, the establishment of multinational formations, the operational output and, where possible, to set the condition for a potential collaborative capabilities development.
This visit fits in to this context, in order to explore the role of the NATO SFA COE in support of the ITA-FNC, how the COE could enhance the capabilities and implement its projects and plans, adopting a multinational and inter-ministerial approach, including the NATO vision.
The event clearly demonstrates the potential areas of collaboration and cooperation with the Centre, by using Italy as Framework Nation, to have a direct link with a NATO component and the International Organizations connected with the Centre.
This activity is also part of a wider process to strengthen the ITA- FNC initiative aimed at consolidating further cohesion among all the member Nations and set also the condition for a new form of multinational cooperation.
