I am honoured to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, the Supreme Commander - may God protect him - for his high confidence in me to be the warden of the National Defence College, as stated in Royal Decree No. (28/2022), asking God Almighty for help and success in performing the trust with the cooperation of all and achieving the national mission of this prestigious strategic scientific edifice in accordance with the supreme interests of the country. Since its establishment, the National Defence College has been working according to a solid national vision and objectives, which are guided by determination and consistency as a roadmap in preparing and graduating a group of loyal sons of Oman to occupy leadership positions with high efficiency through their training in research, analysis, planning, creative and critical thinking skills that enable them to formulate national policies and strategic decision-making on the most important issues and crises from a strategic perspective in the entities they work for in light of regional and global circumstances and challenges. Thanks to the futuristic vision of our wise leadership, the announcement in Royal Decree No. (27/2022) to establish the Academy of Strategic and Defence Studies confirms that building a knowledge economy based on human capital is one of the most important strategies for the renewed renaissance and the implementation of Oman Vision 2040, making the national role of the National Defence College as one of the main components of the Academy of Strategic and Defence Studies to contribute effectively to the overall security system of the country and enhance the position of the Sultanate of Oman regionally and internationally.