Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as a partner country, has been invited to the upcoming NATO summit to be held in Madrid on June 29th and 30th.
The delegation from BiH will be led by Defense Minister Sifet Podzic, and the summit will bring together NATO leaders in the Spanish capital to discuss important issues which the Alliance is facing.
Besides Podzic, the delegation will include General Ivica Jerkic, Brigadier Edin Fako, BiH Ambassador to Spain Danka Savic,and Chief of Staff Defense Minister Kemal Korjenic.
Namely, the two-day gathering in Madrid will set NATO’s strategic direction for the next decade and beyond, ensuring that the Alliance continues to adapt to a changing world and keeps a billion people from member states safe.
The summit was convened with the aim of ensuring that NATO continues to fulfill its key purpose and greatest responsibility, which is to ensure collective defense for its member countries.
Despite the fact that BiH is not a member of NATO, the North Atlantic Alliance has long recognized our country as a key partner in the Balkans, especially during the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“BiH is a valued partner for NATO. We support your sovereignty and integrity and remain committed to Euro-Atlantic aspirations. NATO supports peace and stability in BiH. Our dialogue and cooperation are more important than ever because of the Russian war in Ukraine and malignant influence in the region,” Stoltenberg said last month after meeting with BiH Presidency Chairman Sefik Dzaferovic.
The NATO chief then said the Alliance was monitoring the situation in BiH, especially the inflammatory rhetoric coming from Republika Srpska (RS).
“We are closely following developments in BiH. We continue to work with our headquarters in Sarajevo. We are committed to this in the long run and provide support to ensure peace and stability. We follow the rhetoric of divisions and inflammatory messages coming from RS so we are now considering how we can strengthen practical support, including capacity building and how to strengthen our presence and cooperate in the field of armaments, “ Stoltenberg concluded.
He pointed out that NATO will do more to stand with partners, including the development of new defense capabilities and cooperation in cyber security and the fight against terrorism.
Ahead of the summit in Madrid, Jens Stoltenberg noted that NATO will declare that Russia is no longer a partner, but a threat to security, peace, and stability.
