The delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by the Secretary of MoBiH Muhamed Smajić, participated in the Meeting of Defense Ministers of Southeast Europe (SEDM), which was held today in Ankara, in the Republic of Turkey.
The topic of the meeting, attended by BiH Assistant Minister of Defense for International Relations Zoran Šajinović, was the improvement of regional security, stability and cooperation in Southeast Europe, as well as the strengthening of good neighborly relations. The security situation was also discussed, and opinions were exchanged about the impact that Russian aggression against Ukraine has on the region of Southeast Europe.
In his presentation, Secretary Smajić pointed out that BiH recognizes the SEDM initiative as one of the important regional forums, including its political and security dimension. Also, the objectives presented by the chairman were strongly supported, such as the confirmation of commitment to strengthening political and military cooperation and the support of SEDM members in their aspirations towards NATO.
It was also emphasized that, regardless of the challenges, the BiH Ministry of Defense is dedicated to achieving foreign policy goals, which are related to meeting the conditions for joining the EU and NATO. It was established that for the implementation of the modernization plan of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BiH has great support with the aid package for strengthening defense capacities (DCB). The involvement of the BiH Armed Forces, which earlier this year sent rescue teams and a unit for remediation of the consequences of natural disasters to the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Slovenia, was evaluated in a positive light.
During this ministerial meeting, the MoBiH delegation held a bilateral meeting with the delegation of the Republic of Turkey and discussed the dynamics of the implementation of the Agreement on Military-Financial Cooperation, on the basis of which the Armed Forces of BiH will receive modern equipment for the battalion group of light infantry, as well as the project of training helicopter pilots of the Armed Forces of BiH in the Republic Turkey. At the same time, gratitude was expressed for the contribution of the Republic of Turkey in the development of the DCB aid package.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the MoBiH delegation had meetings and discussions with the delegations of the Republic of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania and the Republic of Serbia. In addition to these delegations, representatives of the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Croatia, Greece, the Republic of Italy, the Republic of North Macedonia, the Republic of Slovenia, the United States of America, Ukraine, Montenegro, Georgia and Moldova also took part in the meeting, the Office announced. for public relations of the Ministry of BiH.
