Acting in its capacity as the Secretariat of the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centers (IAPTC), CCCPA participated virtually in the Association’s Executive Committee Meeting (ECM) that took place in a hybrid format in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 26-28 April 2022.

The meeting discussed the Association’s strategic plan for the year, the overall engagement between community members, and kicked-off the planning process of the 26th Annual Conference. In this context, Executive Committee Members discussed and approved the theme, agenda, as well as other organizational matters related to the 26th Annual Conference to be hosted by the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT) in-person in Bangladesh, from 31 October-3 November 2022. In accordance with its principal responsibilities as Secretariat, CCCPA provided an overview of the progress over the past year considering the COVID-19 pandemic, including hosting the virtual seminar held in November 2021: “Overcoming Training Challenges in the COVID Era–Critical Gaps, Best Practices and Hybrid Approaches”, and discussed the way forward.

Head of the IAPTC Secretariat, Ambassador Ahmed Abdel-Latif, CCCPA’s Director-General, emphasized how the fast-changing peace and security landscape reinforces the need for stronger cooperation and partnerships to address common challenges in training for peace operations. In this vein, he welcomed the prospect of resuming in-person meetings during the upcoming period in order to further strengthen the role of the Association. Moreover, he stated that the Secretariat team will continue to support and cooperate with this year’s host and the entire committee to ensure a safe and successful return to in-person conferences.

Established in 1995, IAPTC is an open and voluntary association of centers, institutions, agencies, and programs dealing with peace operations research, education, and training. The aim of the Association is to contribute to more effective peace operations by promoting a better understanding of peacekeeping and its goals, and to facilitate communication, exchange of information and best practices between peace operations and other related education and training centers, and/or among people responsible for, and involved in, training for peacekeeping operations.

CCCPA has been the IAPTC Secretariat since January 2017.