Representatives from NATO Allies and partners met last week in Denmark on the occasion of the 13th edition of the Clearing House on Defence Education hosted by NATO and the Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes, with support from the Royal Danish Defence College. The event brought together 126 participants, representing 26 countries and 52 defence education institutions supporting the efforts of NATO's Defence Education Enhancement Programme. They took stock of the achievements made and shared views on the priorities ahead to boost cooperation in the defence education domain.
Major General Flemming Mathiasen, Commander of the Royal Danish Defence College highlighted the importance of "intellectual interoperability" among NATO and partner countries and stressed Denmark's commitment to continue contributing to NATO's efforts, including through professional military education.
Pavel Anastov, Programme Manager for the NATO's Defence Education Enhancement Programme stressed NATO's commitment to continue supporting partners and help them to fully implement existing programme commitments. The need for NATO partners to boost up their defence capacities has become even more vital in the wake Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since 2014, Ukraine has benefited from the assistance provided through the Defence Education Enhancement Programme to align its Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer corps with NATO standards. Representatives from across the Alliance emphasised the value added of professional military education in strengthening the resilience and security and the defence capacity of individual partner countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Moldova, against malign influence.
