Rear Admiral Arnaud Coustillière, head of the French Cyber Defence Unit, confirmed that France is determined to join the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (the Centre) in 2013. Rear Admiral Coustillière visited the Centre yesterday and met with Colonel Artur Suzik, Director or the Centre, to discuss the details of the joining process.
“We are immensely honoured that France has decided to join the Centre and we are looking forward to the expertise and knowledge that France’s researchers will bring,” said Colonel Suzik during the meeting. “France is an important nation when it comes to cyber defence and I believe both the Centre, France and NATO will benefit considerably from this decision.”
Cyber defence is one of France’s priorities and due to that the nation is aiming to enhance bilateral cooperation with its main allies and supports NATO and EU activities in the field of cyber defence.
In addition to meeting the Director and staff of the Centre, Rear Admiral Coustillière also gave a lecture at the Baltic Defence College (located in Tartu, Estonia) and met with the representatives of Estonian Ministry of Defence. Today he will meet with the Chief of Staff of Estonian Defence Forces and pay a visit to the Estonian Information System’s Authority.
NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence is an International Military Organisation located in Tallinn, Estonia. Its mission is to enhance the capability, cooperation and information sharing among NATO, its member nations and partners in cyber defence by virtue of education, research and development, lessons learned and consultation.