On 10th May 2017 the Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL) had the honour to welcome the Military Representatives and Defence Counsellors accredited to NATO. Within the delegation such nations as Albania, Canada, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia and Spain were represented.

High-level guests were welcomed by the Commandant of the BALTDEFCOL, Major General Andis Dilans accompanied by Mayor of Tartu, Mr. Urmas Klaas at the Tartu Airport. During the transfer to BALTDEFCOL, CSM Peeter Einbaum gave an historical overview of Tartu.

The members of the College Management Group welcomed the distinguished delegation at the arrival to College. The visit continued with a briefing providing an overview of College’s history, vision, courses and research activities emphasising cooperation with NATO and Professional Military Education organisations. The guests expressed strong interest in the College activities within follow-on discussion allowing them to better understand the significance of the College as successful international project.

The visit ended with a panel discussion including the students of Higher Command Studies Course 2017 and BALTDEFCOL faculty. The discussion was moderated by Dr Asta Maskaliunaite, Lecturer on War and Conflicts; the panelists were LTC (ret.) Ugis Romanovs, Lecturer on NATO Joint Operations, Dr Viljar Veebel, Fellow on Russian Strategic and Military Studies and Dr Māris Andžāns, guest speaker from the Latvian Institute of International Affairs in Riga. Panel focused on the limits and opportunities related to security of Baltic states in broader context. The presentations were followed by comments provided by the Military Representatives and a Q&A session, where the unity of the NATO alliance was emphasised, social cohesion questions were discussed and the effects of deterrence were deliberated further.