NATO recognized that Bosnia and Herzegovina is faced with additional security threats due to newly emerging geopolitical circumstances, and approved an aid package to strengthen its defense capacities. This, as well as numerous other support projects, testify to NATO’s strong partnership and commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This was highlighted today in the continuation of the Rose-Roth seminar, which is being held in Sarajevo in the organization of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO (PSNATO) and in cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PSBiH).
Deputy Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina Slaven Galić pointed out that the fundamental determinants of the new strategic concept of the NATO alliance are deterrence, management of crisis situations and their prevention, which in reality is particularly important for the Western Balkans region.
Referring to the reflections of the NATO Summit in Vilnius as part of the ‘BiH and NATO’ panel, Galić said that the commitment to the security and stability of the Western Balkans region was confirmed at that summit, and that the reforms that advance the aspirations of the countries for joining NATO and the European Union were underlined. union (EU).
He said that the messages from Vilnius were materialized through a specific aid package, assessing that this aid was welcome in the circumstances of the limited defense budget.
Galić recalled the achievements made within the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which correspond to NATO standards, expressing readiness to strengthen partnership relations, oriented towards strengthening collective security, as was previously realized in NATO-led peace support operations.
At the same time, he stated that there is an initiative to establish an international/regional training center for demining in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Galić also reminded that Bosnia and Herzegovina is active as part of regional initiatives and that it strives to strengthen partnerships, strengthen its own capacities and achieve better working conditions for members of the defense structures.
In this context, he expressed his gratitude to all partners in implementing the necessary reforms, the democratization process, strengthening the rule of law, and creating a new environment and opening perspectives for young and educated people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“For a small country in the center of Europe, there is no better and more reasonable option than joining the North Atlantic family,” said Galić.
As part of the same panel, Olav Reinersten, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is also NATO’s contact embassy, greeted the participants of the meeting, referring to the recent initiatives of NATO in Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. the role of NATO – contact embassy and the international community.
He explained that the contact embassy is, among other things, in charge of distributing information from NATO, in an effort to counter misinformation and malignant influences.
Ambassador Reinerster underlined NATO’s determination to contribute to the economic prosperity and political stability of BiH, as well as a safe and stable environment, based on sincere partnership.
He specified that about two-thirds of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina supports Euro-Atlantic integration, with the remark that we should continue to work on expanding this support.
Reinerster, at the same time, reminded that the idea of the Rose-Roth seminar is to help countries in transition in the reform process and expressed the expectation that the meeting in Sarajevo will contribute to BiH being on the radar of NATO member states, ready to support its efforts.
The importance of strengthening the partnership and cooperation with NATO was also pointed out by the Commander of the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, Brigadier General Pamela McGaha, talking about practical examples and experiences in cooperation between NATO and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She said that the long partnership with Bosnia and Herzegovina includes almost all NATO programs, with the belief that this contributes to reform processes and good governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She praised the achieved level of cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina. defense structures, as well as the professionalism of their members, emphasizing the readiness of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo to continue to provide support in this regard.
General McGaha pointed to the insufficient defense budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stating that it has been less than one percent of GDP for decades.
She also said that the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the most trusted institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, calling on partner countries to continue to support them.
“Investing in partnership with BiH is investing in our own security,” said, among others, General McGaha.
The PSBiH is the host of the 105th NATO Rose-Roth Seminar, whose central theme is ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans in an unstable international security environment’, and which gathered around 130 registered participants in the capital of BiH, including PSNATO parliamentarians , members of the PSBiH Delegation in PSNATO, members of the Joint Commission for Defense and Security of BiH.
In addition to others, members of the Collegium of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the PSBiH and ministers from the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina headed by the chairperson Borjana Krišto, as well as the Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nermin Nikšić and the directors of police agencies, as well as the commander of the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo, diplomatic representatives participate in the meeting. and experts from BiH and prestigious European institutions.
The first day of the three-day Rose-Roth seminar is marked by two sessions entitled ‘Recent events in BiH’ and ‘Euro-Atlantic integration’ with two panels – ‘BiH and NATO’ and ‘BiH and the EU’.
The Rose-Roth program of cooperation with the parliaments of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was launched in 1990 by the then president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Congressman Charlie Rose and Senator Bill Roth. The global goal of the Rose-Roth initiative is to strengthen the development of parliamentary democracy in CEE countries by using PSNATO as a mechanism for inter-parliamentary cooperation and support.