The farewell ceremony for 45 members of the infantry units from the 4th Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of BiH (AF BiH) to peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan was held on Thursday in the barrack “Bozan Simovic” in Capljina.
“Considering that the participation in peacekeeping missions is one of the basic tasks of the AF BiH, I believe that we are contributing to the reputation of BiH in the world in this way, and also show our partners in NATO that BiH is ready and can be a credible partner together with all the other member states,” said Minister of Defense of BiH, Marina Pendes.
She added that the entry into NATO, along with membership in the EU, is priority for BiH and members of the Armed Forces of BiH are certainly contributing in order for our country, among other things, to be recognized as a country that deserves to be the part of the Alliance.
Referring to the great success of our soldiers in peacekeeping missions without a single incident, the Minister emphasized that the members of the 4th Infantry Brigade were preparing for the mission for 6 months, from both professional and cultural aspect.
“Therefore, we hope and believe that they are sufficiently prepared and that they will never make any failure. They are ready to face with all cases and potential problems, and they are familiar with all of the challenges that they can expect,” said Minister Pendes.
“Male and female soldiers in BiH are serving in peacekeeping missions in the world for more than 15 years, and more than 1200 members were in missions and represented BiH in the world,” said General Ante Jelec, Chief of Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH.
He added that the Armed Forces are committed to continue this way and to be credible and equal partner with many friends in the world on the preservation of peace.
General announced that they are finding out possibilities for the Armed Forces of BiH to reinforce their contribution to the UN mission in the upcoming period.
According to Brigadier General Tomo Kolenda, commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade of the AF BiH, in the mission are going 45 soldiers, three of them are female members, and they will work on securing the base.
The ceremony was attended by the highest officials of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces of BiH, headed by Minister of Defense Marina Pendes, and representatives of commands and units of the Armed Forces of BiH.
(Source: klix.ba)
