The Head of the COE Establishment Team for the Maritime GEOMETOC COE, Captain Luís Nuno Sardinha Monteiro, was invited to take part, as an observer, in the 2019 Centres of Excellence (COE) Directors Conference and to present a briefing about the Maritime GEOMETOC COE.
The COE Directors Conference is an annual event, hosted by a different COE each year in their premises. The objective of this annual conference is to provide the primary venue to foster interaction between COE Directors and, upon invitation, equivalent representatives from NATO Bodies and Multinational Organisations, to inform them about recent developments, compare experiences and share best practices.
The 2019 COE Directors Conference was hosted by the Mountain Warfare COE in the beautiful surroundings of Lake Bled, in Slovenia, on 9-11 July 2019, with the participation of all 25 COE Directors and representatives from different NATO Entities.
The Slovenian Minister of Defence, Mr. Karl Erjavec, attended the morning session of the first day and gave the opening remarks, praising the COE's contribution to the Alliance.
Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Admiral Manfred Nielson, Allied Command Transformation Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Paul Bennett, and SACT Representative in Europe, Brigadier General Eduard Simion, gave speeches on COE's contribution to the NATO Command Structure and future relationships between NATO, COEs and NATO Entities.
The presentation of the Maritime GEOMETOC COE highlighted the roadmap of the establishment process of the COE, emphasizing the 1st Establishment Conference, to be held in the Portuguese Hydrographic Office, Lisbon, on 9-10 October 2019.
