The Partnership Training and Education Centres (PTEC) Marketplace is taking place on 15 and 16 November 2022 at NATO Headquarters. This annual gathering last took place in 2019 and had to be suspended throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. After three years, the network of training centres and institutions in NATO Allied and partner countries was brought together again to exchange expertise, forge new links and discuss further synergies in the key domain of military education and training.
A total of 27 out of the PTEC community’s 34 centres were present at the NATO Headquarters for the opening of the marketplace, including representatives of the Ukrainian PTEC, the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre, which Russia bombed last March, and the two newest centres in Israel and Colombia. 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 emphasised 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.