By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijan and NATO’s military education representatives have discussed cooperation in the relevant sphere, Azernews reports, citing the Defense Ministry.

A working meeting with the program coordinators for Azerbaijan and NATO's specialists on various educational topics was conducted on June 17, at the Defense Ministry’s National Defense University as part of NATO's Defence Education Enhancement Program (DEEP), the report added.

At the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the potential for the growth of the military educational system and cooperation. Moreover, briefings were held on the experience gained in the relevant area.

The guests visited the military institute named after Heydar Aliyev under the National Defense University and the Military Medical Faculty of the Azerbaijani Medical University in line with the program. The visitors were briefed about the educational process, and the parties discussed other matters of mutual interest.

Relations with NATO started in 1992 when Azerbaijan joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. This forum for dialogue was succeeded in 1997 by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which brings together all Allies and partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Bilateral cooperation began when Azerbaijan joined the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in 1994. Thanks to regular participation in PfP activities, Azerbaijan has been able to contribute actively to Euro-Atlantic security by supporting NATO-led peace-support operations.

Azerbaijan’s participation in the PfP Planning and Review Process (PARP) since 1997 has allowed NATO and individual Allies to assist Azerbaijan in developing selected units to improve interoperability with those of the allies.

NATO and Azerbaijan started work on a jointly agreed Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) in 2008 to integrate NATO standards into the teaching methodologies and curricula of the country’s Professional Military Education (PME) institutions.

In 2018, Azerbaijan asked NATO to also involve the Military High School, a pre-commissioning school, in DEEP.