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SARAJEVO, June 5 (FENA) - The leaders of the NATO member countries made a decision at the Alliance summit in Madrid in June last year to provide support to partner countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this regard, a solemn ceremony was held today in Sarajevo, where the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Roman Hloben, handed over a donor's check of 20,000 euros to Zukan Helez, Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The delivery of this donation is the first symbolic step in the implementation of the promised support package, worth 54 million euros, intended to strengthen the defense capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
With gratitude expressed on the occasion, the BiH Defense Minister Zukan Helez emphasized the importance of strengthening the operational capacities of the Armed Forces of BiH (AF BiH), underlining that the largest part of the mentioned aid will be directed to the Battalion Group of Light Infantry, which numbers around 840 members.
He also emphasized that the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina increased the budget for the defense sector by 90 million KM in the current mandate, which represents an increase of 28 percent and a total of about 392 million KM.
In a statement to the media, Helez said that the amount allocated for defense is 0.94 percent of BiH's GDP, recalling that the average allocation for the same purpose in NATO member countries is around two percent of GDP.
He further added that nine projects within the funds approved by NATO refer to the defense sector, and three to the security sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the same time, the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Roman Hloben, expressed content with the beginning of the realization of NATO's support to the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stating that he is glad that the government of his country is the first to symbolically deliver financial support, with the belief that this will be continued with donations from partners from of NATO.
"I want to emphasize that the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are one of the most important pillars of protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Ambassador Hloben.
He said that friendly Slovakia wishes Bosnia and Herzegovina success on the international level, especially on the path to the European Union and NATO.
The Slovak ambassador noted that his country contributes to peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the Althea operation, and participates with its own contingent of 53 soldiers in the EUFOR in BiH, and with another 120 members of the reserve forces in Slovakia.
"Slovakia is very burdened by the situation in Ukraine, which is our biggest eastern neighbor, and all our help, technical, military and material, is sent to Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression.
Despite this, it is very important for us to be present in the region of the Western Balkans, which is an important foreign policy priority for us," said Ambassador Hloben.
In addition to others, the ceremony of handing over the donation was attended by the commander of the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, Brigadier General Pamela McGaha, and the military attaché of the Slovak Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brigadier Milan Mindek.
(FENA) S. R.
