The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez, with his deputies Slaven Galić and Aleksandar Goganović, received on Monday the Director of the Joint Staff of the Maryland National Guard – Brigadier General Craig Hunter, who is on a several-day official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The interlocutors discussed the military cooperation programs of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of BiH with the National Guard of the US state of Maryland, the Ministry of Defense of BiH announced.
The State Partnership Program (SPP) with Maryland dates back to 2003 and was established to increase understanding and interoperability between the US Army and the Armed Forces of BiH and to provide support to democratic institutions and state bodies of BiH.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Helez thanked the guest for his recent productive visit to the US and Maryland. He particularly emphasized that he was proud that military cooperation with this US state is now expanding to civilian cooperation.
“Your presence here confirms the strength of our partnership and our shared commitment to improving relations through open dialogue, professional exchange and constructive cooperation. Our bilateral cooperation is not only achieved through training and education of members of the MoD and AF BiH, but also helps to increase our competencies and capabilities, both on an individual and collective level. All of this increases the interoperability of members and units of the AF BiH with NATO members,” said Helez.
The Minister particularly emphasized the significant role that the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) of the US Embassy in BiH plays in strong cooperation with the US Armed Forces, which is being implemented this year through 80 different activities. When it comes to cooperation with Maryland, Helez particularly emphasized the initiative of the Maryland-BiH Exchange Council, thanks to which the BiH Day activity was implemented in Maryland from 11 to 20 April, in which representatives from several departments of BiH participated, and which was led by Helez as Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH.
BiH Deputy Ministers of Defense Slaven Galić and Aleksandar Goganović also emphasized the importance and success of the cooperation with NG Maryland, stressing that the United States of America is the most important partner for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that the capabilities of the Armed Forces of BiH are raised to a higher level with this cooperation.
For his part, General Hunter expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation programs with BiH and expressed his readiness to expand this cooperation. He especially mentioned educational programs for the development of cybersecurity, in which personnel from the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of BiH will be able to participate.
Hunter emphasized that he supports the efforts of Minister Helez towards greater financial allocation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for defense and emphasized that these are also the expectations of US President Donald Trump, who would like to see BiH allocate at least two percent of its gross domestic product to the armed forces.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina is a key country in the Balkans for us. We are here to help you in all your efforts and we will continue to stand by you,” concluded Hunter.
