New Delhi. 08 May 2018. Progressing ahead with the commitment made by PM of India Narendra Modi to the United Nations on the seventieth anniversary, the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping in India (CUNPK) conducted jointly with US, the first & second editions of United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African Partners (UNPCAP-01 & 02) in New Delhi in year 2016 and 2017 respectively. In the same series of courses, CUNPK along with US is conducting the third edition of the course (UNPCAP-03) wef 07 May to 25 May 2018.
The Inaugural Session for this course was conducted on 07 May at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs chaired the Inaugural Session and welcomed the officers while briefing the audience on the commitment of India towards the UN. Other eminent speakers to speak on the occasion included Lt Gen Ajae Kumar Sharma, UYSM, YSM, SM, Director General Staff Duties and H.E. Mr. Kenneth Juster, US Ambassador to India.
The course is aimed to build and enhance the capacity of the African Troop Contributing Countries to the UN and to further train the Trainers from these countries. The course, which revolves around the concept of training the trainers, as stated by the UN, is one of the many steps that India has initiated towards active contribution to peace support activities. The students include officers who are currently employed in their respective peacekeeping training centres in African peacekeeping training institutions. The first two editions of the course were conducted in English which limited the participation to English speaking African Countries only. In order to widen the participation base & include francophone countries, UNPCAP-03 has been planned to be conducted in both English as well as French by using the facility of simultaneous interpretation.
The training incorporates topics on operational and logistical matters, humanitarian issues, thematic topics, Blackboard and Table Top exercises, mission briefs and would be conducted by a rich pool of seasoned instructors from India, US as well as the alumni instructors 
from Africa who have attended the previous edition of this course.The course is already being seen as a milestone in many ways in the international fora and is a true reflection of India’s growing stature in the international arena.
