NATO Study Tour - Comitato Atlantico Italiano

From 4 to 8 June 2012, the Italian Atlantic Committee organized in Italy the “NATO Study Tour”, a visiting program aimed at the 55^ General Staff Course of the Serbian National Defense School (NDS).

The “NATO Study Tour” was promoted in collaboration with the Atlantic Council of Serbia, with the agreement of the Serbian Ministry of Defense of the Republic of and the support of the embassy of Norway in Belgrade.

The Serbian delegation, led by the State Secretary for Defense, Igor Jovičić, was composed by Col. Mile Jelić, Director of NDS, and the 47 High Officers (Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels) from the 55^ General Staff Course.

The “NATO Study Tour” included seminars, briefings and visits to various institutions and entities both civilian and military, national and Atlantic, such as the Center for High Defense Studies, the NATO Defense College, the Joint Operational Command, the Pratica di Mare Air Force Base, the Allied Joint Force Command-Naples and the industrial group MBDA.

The program focused on topical and significant issues, with a particular reference to the role of NATO in the Western Balkans after the Chicago Summit, the Euro-Atlantic integration perspectives of Serbia and the Italian contribution to the stability of the Balkan region.

The “NATO Study Tour” is fully part of the twenty-year engagement of the Italian Atlantic Committee in the Western Balkans, aimed at promoting dialogue and cooperation in the security and defense field, through training for civilian and military personnel, educational courses, seminars and conferences, as well as research and information activities.

In this framework, the Italian Atlantic Committee has always devoted a particular attention to the cooperation with the Republic of Serbia, as testified by the cooperation and education programs that the Italian Atlantic Committee has been carrying out for many years with the NDS and the Atlantic Council of Serbia in a perspective of Euro-Atlantic integration.