Cairo, Egypt – H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, will today inaugurate the 23rd Annual Conference of the International Association on Peacekeeping Training Centers (IAPTC) taking place at the Intercontinental Semiramis Hotel. The four-day conference brings together about 300 participants from the global peacekeeping and crisis management community, including senior government officials, high-level representatives from the United Nations and regional organizations, leading training and research centers, as well as scholars and practitioners.This is the first time for the IAPTC conference to be held in the Middle East and the first time since 2008 to be hosted in an African country. It comes at a time when Egypt is increasing its contributions to UN peacekeeping. Egypt is currently the world’s 3rd largest contributor of military advisors, the 5th largest contributor of police and the 12th largest contributor of troops. In addition, Egypt plays a pivotal role in shaping peacekeeping policies and doctrine, particularly through its concurrent membership of the United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, and its role as the Rapporteur of the UN special committee on peacekeeping.

CCCPA is organizing the conference in collaboration with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Interior, as well as the Ministries of Civil Aviation, Tourism, Antiquities and Culture.

Today’s peacekeeping environment is witnessing major changes due to the ever-evolving nature of conflict and the emergence of new threats and challenges to international peace and security. This is particularly relevant in Africa and the Arab world, where the majority of peacekeeping missions are deployed. Against this backdrop, this year’s conference is held under the theme “Integrated Peacekeeping Training for Complex Environments”.

The IAPTC is a voluntary association of centers and institutions working on peacekeeping research and training. Since its inception in 1995, more than 90 institutions have contributed to the work of the IAPTC. The association aims to promote better understanding of peacekeeping, its means and ends, and the different types and mechanisms used for peacekeeping training. To achieve this, the association convenes an annual conference. As of 2017, CCCPA assumed the role of the Secretariat of the IAPTC.