Brasilia, Brazil - The Annual General Meeting of the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centers (IAPTC) unanimously approved CCCPA’s bid to host the 23rd Annual Conference of the Association in Cairo in 2017. Some 200 participants, from 50 countries, supported Egypt’s offer during the 21st Annual Conference, from 28 September to 2 October 2015. By virtue of the decision, CCCPA joins the Executive Committee of the IAPTC for four consecutive years - which will overlap with Egypt’s prospective, non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, thus allowing Egypt to continue its constructive contribution to global and regional debates about doctrinal, policy and training issues in the field of peacekeeping.

Representing Egypt at the Brasilia Conference was a joint delegation comprising the management of CCCPA and the Egyptian Military Attaché in Brasilia (as a representative of the Ministry of Defense). The joint delegation is a direct outcome of the ever-growing cooperation and coordination between the Egyptian Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs on a host of issues, most notably peacekeeping. 

Counselor Ashraf Swelam, Director of CCCPA and head of the Egyptian delegation, expressed gratitude to the members of IAPTC for their endorsement of the Egyptian bid,  “We are extremely pleased by the vote of confidence in CCCPA and we look forward to working with our partners in the Association towards what we are certain will be a very successful event”, he said. This will be the first time that the IAPTC Annual Conference (the largest gathering of global peacekeeping training centres) takes place in the Middle East and North Africa.  He also thanked the African Peace Support Trainers Association (APSTA) for its unanimous endorsement of CCCPA’s bid as a representative of Africa. (CCCPA assumed Presidency of APSTA on September 9, 2015.)  

The IAPTC is an open and voluntary association of centres, institutions, and programs dealing with peace operations research, education, and training. It was founded in Canada on July 2, 1995. In 2005, the responsibility for the management of the Association was transferred to the Centre for UN Peacekeeping (CUNPK) in New Delhi as it assumed the role of IAPTC Secretariat. The aim of the Association is to facilitate communication and exchange of information between peacekeeping and other related education and training centers and/or among people responsible for, and interested in training for peace and crisis management operations. Trainers and educators use this information to promote well-tested practices and provide information or offer services to those countries that do not have training centres, hence minimizing duplication, facilitating cooperation in education, training and research, and resulting in more effective and efficient operations in the field.

The 22nd Annual Conference of the IAPTC will be held in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 2016.