Colombia: CAEM visits Oslo
Norwegian foreign policy, security and climate, citizen security and welfare models were among the topics discussed when NOREF, with Norwegian and Colombian partners, hosted a visit from the Colombian War College’s Course on Advanced Military Studies (CAEM).
Dag Nylander, NOREF's Director, and Major General Dag Rist Aamoth, Chief for the Norwegian Defence University College, welcomed the officers to Oslo. Photo: NOREF
First week of September NOREF once again welcomed a delegation from the Colombian War College (Escuela Superior de Guerra) to Oslo. The visit of the high-ranking Colombian officers is part of a longstanding Norwegian engagement with the Colombian military and police, and was co-hosted by NOREF, the Norwegian Defence University College (NDUC), and the Colombian organisation Social Development Group (SDG). The group included officers from the navy, air force, army, and the police, and was accompanied by the head of the Department of the Course on Advanced Military Studies and the Comprehensive Course on National Defence of the Colombian War College, a general from the Colombian Defence Staff, and the director of SDG.
The CAEM group met with representatives from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Storting, the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Norwegian police, civil society, and researchers from leading Norwegian research institutions. The programme included both discussion on current issues in Norwegian foreign policy, the Colombian peace process, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, citizen security, the link between security and climate change, and welfare models. In addition to the stay in Oslo, the group also visited Kirkenes and the Norwegian border areas to learn about the security implications for Norway of the new geopolitical security climate.
Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Ine Eriksen Søreide, greets the officers at the Storting. Photo: Stortinget
Norway has been engaged in dialogue with the Colombian military for 22 years. This initiative aims at engaging with members of the country’s security forces on the need for a lasting and sustainable peace, and at building trust among the various sectors of Colombian society. This was the fourth visit of its kind since NOREF joined the project in 2014 and it builds on NOREF’s solid partnership with the Social Development Group and the Norwegian Embassy in Bogotá.