prijava
SARAJEVO, June 19 (FENA) - On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the State Partnership Program of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the US State of Maryland, a solemn ceremony was held today in the Hall of the Armed Forces of BiH, where it was emphasized that the National Guard of Maryland is one of the most credible and reliable partners of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
BiH Minister of Defense Zukan Helez, with deputies, Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH, General - Colonel Senad Mašović, with deputies, Commander of the National Guard, Major General Janeen Birckhead, representatives of the Defense Cooperation Office of the US Embassy in BiH, and other dignitaries attended the solemn ceremony today.
Addressing the media after the ceremony, BiH Defense Minister Zukan Helez said that thanks to the partnership with the US Armed Forces and the Maryland National Guard, the Armed Forces of BiH are today side by side in UN and EU missions around the world and that today the Armed Forces of BiH have their own minor missions in several countries of Central Africa.
"I want to emphasize that today's visit is the result of our recent visit by a delegation to the government structures of Maryland and the USA. Today, our guests will visit the General Hospital, the Foreign Trade Chamber, and the office of the mayor of Sarajevo. We will extend our military cooperation to civilian areas in culture, defense, and military industry," Helez said.
General Senad Mašović stated that the BiH Armed Forces achieved significant benefits through the implementation of the state partnership program.
"Today, the Armed Forces of BiH are stronger, more modern and significantly more capacitated. Through these 20 years of cooperation, and partnership, more than 5,000 members of the Armed Forces of BiH and the Maryland National Guard, soldiers and civilians, participated in various types of cooperation and peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan. For us, cooperation and partnership with the National Guard Maryland, which on many issues represents one of our most credible and reliable partners in terms of raising the level of interoperability and strengthening the Armed Forces of BiH, through the "Army to Army" program, conducting joint exercises, joint training, training of soldiers, non-commissioned officers, officers, joint participation in international competitions, but also helping civilians in natural disasters is of crucial importance to us," said Mašović.
Commander of Maryland National Guard Major General Janeen Birckhead stated that the partnership with the BiH Armed Forces has been based on mutual respect, interest and benefits for 20 years.
"We see the Armed Forces of BiH as our peers and we learn from them as much as they learn from us. This is a relationship of equals, cooperating and sharing lessons learned on matters of mutual interest. The strength of this partnership is when we can cooperate on specific missions, as when the BiH Armed Forces served with our military police in Afghanistan in 2012. The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina have built a significant, modern, professional force of which the country can be very proud. We expect that in the next decade, we will build on our success, and expand our partnership to areas beyond the military and defense," said Birckhead.
(FENA) A. B.
