Austrian Federal Minister of Defense Thomas Starlinger presented the Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina Marina Pendes with the Grand Gold Honorary Mention, the decoration awarded by the Austrian Federal President.
Within the framework of her previous mandate, Marina Pendes encouraged the development of cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Austria and raised it to a new level through personal efforts.
The most obvious evidence of co-operation between the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Austrian Federal Army is the participation of cadets of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in vocational university training at the Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt.
In addition, Minister of Defense Pendes has always supported and participated in the initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Austria within the framework of regional cooperation in South-East Europe and significantly contributed to the success of the further development of the regional initiative.
The aforementioned initiative of Austria in Southeastern Europe enhances the cooperation of the armed forces of the countries of the region and supports the approximation of these countries to the European structures in the defense sector.
The contribution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in this connection also the personal engagement of Minister Pendes, thus strengthens stability and security in the region of particular importance to Austria.
