The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Sifet Podzic, together with the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH (AFBiH) Colonel General Senad Masovic, participated in the opening ceremony of the Initial Planning Conference for Exercise “DEFENDER EUROPE 23”, held from March 28th to April 1st, 2022 in Sarajevo.
Over 30 countries
Defender Europe is an annual, multinational, joint large-scale United States (US)-led large-scale exercise designed to build preparedness and interoperability between the U.S., NATO, and partner countries. Exercise “Defender Europe 2023” will be held in the summer of 2023 in locations across Europe. In addition to the representatives of BiH, the Initial Planning Conference was attended by representatives from over 30 partner and allied countries, the Ministry of Defense of BiH announced.
In his address, Minister of Defense Sifet Podzic stated that this exercise is very important for the Ministry of Defense and the AFBiH because it will provide another opportunity to build readiness on the road to the full operational capability of the AFBiH, and to promote coordination in joint work with allies. Podzic stressed that such exercises go beyond the entire military dimension and confirm the involvement and readiness of the BiH Ministry of Defense to help and enable all the specifics for its rapid execution.
”Defender of Europe, for BiH, is a powerful tool of strategic communication of peace, security, and guarantees for citizens, countries in the region, and throughout Europe,” Podzic added.
Improving relationships
The Chief of the Joint Staff of the AFBiH, Colonel General Senad Masovic, mentioned that exercises such as “Defender Europe” ensure that NATO partners and allies are ready to uniquely respond to any challenge we may face.
”This exercise will serve as an important platform for the development of the AFBiH and demonstrating interoperability and combat readiness. It will also improve our relationship with the Euro-Atlantic community and encourage cooperation between countries in solving common problems, ” notedMasovic, emphasizing that the AFBiH are fully ready to support this key exercise.
After the introductory part of the planning conference, Defense Minister Podzic met with the Commander of the Maryland National Guard, Major General Timothy E. Gowen. Minister Podzic informed General Gowen about bilateral cooperation and projects implemented by the Ministry of Defense and the AFBiH together with the Maryland National Guard.
At the end of the meeting, Minister Podzic explained that the importance of strategic partnership with the U.S. is the realization of integration aspirations elaborated in the Law on Defense, Security Policy, and Foreign Policy Strategy of BiH, which is especially important in times of crisis which our region, Europe, and the world are now experiencing.
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