Zukan Helez, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) met two days ago with the Ministers of Defense of NATO countries, led by the Minister of Defense of the United States (U.S.), in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The topic of the meeting was the security situation in the world, with an emphasis on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Meeting with Pistorius
On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Helez met with the German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, and informed him about the current activities in the defense sector. He thanked his colleague Pistorius for the support provided by the German Government in the reconstruction of the infrastructure of the Armed Forces of BiH (AFBiH) and the training of our cadets in Germany. It was agreed to continue supporting infrastructure projects and to expand cooperation. It was also agreed that the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany would give full support to the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, in unblocking the reform processes in BiH. The Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany expressed concern about the situation in the Balkans and promised full support for our path toward Euro-Atlantic integration and the development of the AFBiH.
Support of the U.S. Government
During the day, Minister Helez also met with the Assistant Minister of Defense of the U.S. Celeste Ann Wallander and thanked her for the increased support of the U.S. Government at the new convocation of the Council of Ministers in the implementation of reform processes. He particularly emphasized the importance of the actions of Ambassador Michael Murphy in eliminating threats to the integrity and sovereignty of BiH.
Numerous meetings
Minister Helez also met with the Bulgarian Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov and the heads of the delegations of Montenegro and Slovenia.
All interlocutors expressed selfless support for BiH on the way to Euro-Atlantic integration.
