The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zukan Helez received yesterday the delegation of the Republic of Austria led by the Ambassador of Austria Ulrike Hartmann and the military attaché of the Republic of Austria in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brigadier Erich Simbürger.
The topics of the meeting were bilateral relations in the field of defense, which are achieved through constant contacts between the defense ministries of the two countries and result in the quality implementation of the annual cooperation program.
Helez praised the joint cooperation and thanked for the overall support when it comes to the training and education of the members of the BiH Armed Forces at the Teresian Military Academy in the Republic of Austria, emphasizing special gratitude for the engagement of members of the Austrian army in the EUFOR Althea mission.
Also, the minister emphasized that the CEDC+WB5 initiative (Central European Defense Cooperation+Western Balkans 5) represents the largest gathering of defense ministries from seven different countries plus the countries of the Western Balkans, which enables the strengthening of regional security within the EU and NATO PfP, and in accordance with national priorities, responsibilities and interests, which is very important at the moment of crisis in Ukraine.
In this context, Helez stated that in addition to the basic goals of joining the NATO alliance and the European Union, regional cooperation between neighboring countries should be one of the priorities for the BiH MoD.
Hartmann pointed out that the Republic of Austria wants to continue successful cooperation in the coming period, and added that she was very proud of the fact that the time has come when cadets from BiH, who successfully graduate from the Teresian Military Academy, return to their country and start serving in the BiH Armed Forces and therefore contribute to their development.
Military attaché Brigadier Simbürger concluded that all priority tasks in bilateral cooperation are functioning in good circumstances and that the positive trend should continue in the future, reads the statement.
