Cairo, Egypt - In partnership with the Integrated Training Service (ITS) of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support (UNDPKO/DFS), CCCPA organized the United Nations Senior National Planners Course (UN-NPC), from 17-29 March 2018. This was the first time for the course to be held in Africa and the Arab world.   
 
The UN-NPC brought together 30 senior officials and national planners from 22 current and emerging Troop- and Police-Contributing Countries (TCCs-PCCs) for a two-week training course, conducted by a team of senior UN trainers, instructors, mentors and experts. This was the first time for the UN-NPC to be held in Africa and the Arab World and the second time ever, after the Pilot UN-NPC, which was held in May 2016 in Serbia. 
 
National planners were introduced to a comprehensive training on executing a variety of tasks, including the preparation, deployment, maintenance, and rotation of contingents for United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. They were also introduced to the most updated UN administrative and technical procedures. 
 
Hosting this training course was part of Egypt’s ‘New Pledges’ - announced in Vancouver during the 4th UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial Conference. In his keynote speech, Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for United Nations Affairs, Ambassador Ihab Awad, emphasized Egypt’s leadership and commitment to peacekeeping, as one of the top contributing countries. Mr. Awad stressed the importance of the primacy of politics, as well as the importance of adherence to the basic principles of peacekeeping.
 
In his opening remarks, CCCPA Director General Ashraf Swelam noted the continued cooperation between CCCPA and UNDPKO, following the joint organization of the 21st United Nations Senior Mission Leaders Course in 2015, the Training of Trainers (ToT) course on the revised UN Core Pre-Deployment Training Materials (CPTM) and the United Nations Military Units Manual (UNMUM) Seminar in 2016. Swelam highlighted CCCPA’s efforts in strengthening global peacekeeping training efforts, including through its presidency of the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centers IAPTC, its chairmanship of the Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Training Group (IDDRTG, and its membership of the African Peace Support Trainers Association. He also thanked the Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for their continued support of CCCPA’s activities.
 
Mr. Rafael Barbieri from UNDPKO, praised Egypt’s support and contribution to UN Peacekeeping efforts. He emphasized the importance of this course in facilitating the process of force generation, deployment and reimbursement, as well as ensuring effective communication between the UN Secretariat and national planners from Troop/Police Contributing Countries. 
Speaking on behalf of the Ambassador of Japan in Cairo, Political Counselor Hiroaki Ichba highlighted Japan’s contribution to building global capacities in peacekeeping and praised the solid and longstanding cooperation between the government of Japan and CCCPA.