The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez, received Brigadier General Pamela McGaha, Commander of the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, today.
The topics of the meeting were the adoption of Anex of the Doboj Agreement related to the resolution of mobile unpromising military assets, the decentralization of public procurement processes in the MoD and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the resolution of non-prospective military locations.
Along with the words of welcome, Helez thanked the commander for the help in realizing the NATO conference of strategic military partners, which was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina from April 8 to 12, hosted by the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He also emphasized the importance of holding the meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) in Sarajevo in February this year, and the holding of the NATO partnership symposium in Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2024, which he will host.
Commander McGaha expressed her satisfaction with the fact that the representatives of the defense department of Bosnia and Herzegovina had the opportunity to directly participate in the recent NATO conference, to exchange opinions with the allies, who sent a clear message that the cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO will be stronger.
The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina informed McGaha about the benefits of the adoption of the Annex to the Doboj Agreement, which will significantly reduce the use of resources of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in terms of storage, insurance and transport, and about the process of solving unpromising military locations. Out of a total of 15 that have not been resolved, seven locations are ready to be handed over to the entity authorities.
It was established that in the coming period, there will be more active cooperation with the local authorities on the territory of which there are unpromising locations in order to speed up the handover process.
Brigadier General Mirsad Ahmić attended the meeting in front of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He informed about the current status of the process of decentralization of public procurement in the defense system. The working group prepared a proposal for an implementation document, and in the coming period, activities will be intensified to fully implement the started process.
Ahmić pointed out that already in 2024 there are evident indicators of improvement in the field of public procurement. Key problems have been located and activities are underway to eliminate them.
Zukan emphasized the positive significance of the change in the general corps and praised the newly appointed generals who showed new energy, will, enthusiasm and ability to make positive strides.
McGaha stressed her commitment to any kind of cooperation and support of the MoD and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that new energy can be felt, the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced.
