On Wednesday, January 10, 2024, the Director of the Personnel Branch of Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS), Rear Admiral Ioannis Pattas, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors (BoD) and Director of the Institute of International Relations of Panteion University, Professor Kostas Yfantis, have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation.

The said Memorandum is the result of a meeting held in July 2023 between the Chief of the HNDGS, General Constantinos Floros, and the Board member of the said Institute, Professor Charalambos Papasotiriou. This meeting focused on the ways of deepening and expanding the cooperation, among others, of the Institute of International Relations with the Hellenic Armed Forces at a joint level, in addition to the already existing cooperation with the Hellenic Army General Staff.

The signing ceremony took place at the HNDGS and was also attended by the Director of the Academic Education Directorate of the HNDGS, Captain Vassilios Beletsiotis, Professor Charalambos Papasotiriou, and the Institute lecturer, Major General (ret.) Polychronis Nalbandis.

The purpose of the Memorandum is to create a framework between the contracting parties in respect of their cooperation in the organization of workshops, conferences, research activities, scientific studies, and educational programs and seminars.

The culmination of the Memorandum is the voluntary participation of the Armed Forces personnel in the “Defence Studies” seminars which address the following:

• Theory of War.
• World War II: Political and Strategic Analysis.
• The USA – from colonial origins to World War II.
• Regional Wars 1945 – 1991.
• Technology and War.
• War in the Modern World: Strategy, Weapon Systems and Tactics.
• Greek High and Military Strategy from the 19th to the 21st Century.

The signing of the Memorandum reflects the wider planning of HNDGS in terms of the interoperability of the Armed Forces and, in particular, their extroversion towards Academia. Further, it provides the Armed Forces personnel the opportunity to acquire valuable educational resources and enrich their knowledge and skills, further strengthening their professional training and development.

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