The 48th NATO Defense College (NDC) Conference of Commandants titled "Leadership in NATO - Challenges for the Future" was held from 28th to 30th of May in Rome, Italy. It is one of the key academic events of the Alliance shaping strategic level education with the focus on NATO senior leadership and the role of Professional Military Education organisations in that important domain. This year’s conference was co-chaired by Lieutenant General Chris Whitecross (CAN NATO), Commandant of NDC, and Lieutenant General Massimiliano Del Casale (ITA A), President of the Centre for Defense Higher Studies (CASD).

The conference was composed of a sequence of panel discussions, lectures and small group activities. It was inaugurated with the keynote panel titled “NATO at 70: What Future Challenges for the Alliance?”. The Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL) was represented by Commandant Major General Andis Dilāns and Dean Dr Zdzislaw Sliwa who participated in plenary sessions and syndicate discussions.

The mission of the NDC is to contribute to the effectiveness and cohesion of the Alliance by developing its role as a major centre of education, outreach and research on transatlantic security issues. The Conference of Commandants is NDC’s annual event. We are pleased to announce that next year, the NDC will organise it in cooperation with BALTDEFCOL and the Latvian National Defence Academy (LNDA) in the premises of LNDA in Riga. To facilitate that academic event MG Dilāns provided a briefing familiarising the audience with BALTDEFCOL as PME organisation and its role in educating officers and civil servants form NATO, PfP and partner nations at operational and strategic levels. He was followed by Col Valts Āboliņš, Rector of LNDA who presented the LNDA and the city of Riga.