Kuwait city: Director of NATO Regional Centre and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (NIRC), Advisor Emad Al-Kanderi, affirmed the centre's commitment to capacity building, promoting experience exchange, bridging perspectives among partner countries, and developing national competencies across relevant fields.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Al-Kanderi stated that the centre hosted its second training session this year, titled "Public Affairs Fundamentals." This session was organized with NATO's Regional Public Affairs Centre and saw participation from members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, GCC countries, and the GCC Secretariat. The course was designed to equip participants with basic communication skills, introduce public affairs principles, teach media engagement techniques, enhance professional media interaction, and improve institutional communication. Successful completion of the course qualifies participants for an advanced course in late October.
Al-Kanderi added that the centre plans to hold 31 courses and events this year on topics such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, maritime security, medical services, and lessons learned. Notably, there will be a practical simulation-based course on field response and crisis management for the first time.
He explained that the annual programs are selected based on participant evaluations, proposals from the National Liaison Points Committee chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and inputs from Ministries of Defense, Interior, National Guard, Fire Service, as well as suggestions from Istanbul Cooperation Initiative members represented by Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar.
Al-Kanderi concluded that this approach ensures continuous program development, maintains relevance to partner countries' needs, and strengthens regional cooperation, particularly with NATO. It also fosters knowledge exchange, professional development, and readiness for security and crisis challenges across the region.