NATO Headquarters Sarajevo assessed in an interview that the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) are recording significant progress in training, adapting to NATO standards, and carrying out international exercises, and they particularly point to the professionalism, motivation, and readiness for cooperation of members of the AFBiH.
They emphasize that NATO Headquarters Sarajevo has very good cooperation with the AFBiH, especially in the areas of regulations, force development and training, as well as in regard to planning and conducting training activities. Cooperation at the tactical level, as they state, is mostly focused on mentoring units and understanding the level of their readiness and needs.
“This includes evaluating the integration of the use of new equipment, procedures, and NATO standards. We also provide support and monitor the main exercises carried out by the AFBiH so that we can possibly adjust our advisory and expert support,” they added.
Highlighting the importance of the human factor within the AFBiH, NATO Headquarters Sarajevo particularly emphasized the qualities that distinguish members of the AFBiH.
“The key advantages and potential of the members of the AFBiH are their professionalism, readiness for close cooperation, and motivation. In addition, there is resourcefulness and the ability to adapt and carry out the tasks assigned to them, even with limited resources. All this is truly impressive. Therefore, it is important that support for their work continues, especially through an appropriate level of financing,” they emphasize.
In the context of assessing the progress of the AFBiH in regard to meeting NATO standards and strengthening BiH’s defense capacities, they stress that concrete advances are visible in several key areas.
“We are witnessing significant progress in several areas. To name just a few: individual and unit training, effective adaptation of regulations and procedures, and adherence to NATO standards,” they state from NATO Headquarters Sarajevo.
They note that additional progress should be achieved in the development of capabilities and improvement of infrastructural support, for which ensuring an adequate and timely budget is of essential importance. Donations are, they add, important, but the AFBiH ultimately cannot rely solely on donations if it wants to develop modern, well-equipped, and trained forces.
Although members of the AFBiH are currently not participating in NATO-led missions, they were previously engaged in such missions and, as representatives of NATO in Sarajevo point out, they always stood out with professionalism and motivation. Currently, members from BiH are participating in the United Nations (UN) mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
They also emphasize that the AFBiH regularly achieves the best results in international military exercises. Evidence of this is two important exercises held this year, where AFBiH members demonstrated their skills and professionalism.
“One was a NATO-led natural disaster response exercise called ‘Bulgaria 2025,’ which was held in September. BiH participated in that exercise with 30 people and 10 vehicles, which included water search and rescue teams, medical personnel, and IT and communication support. They achieved excellent cooperation with teams from other countries, such as Greece, Montenegro, and Ukraine, and they rescued more than 25 people according to the exercise scenario. BiH was one of the most active participants in the exercise. Participants from BiH exchanged experiences, built interoperability, and improved their ability to operate with international civilian and military rescuers in the context of a crisis situation,” NATO Headquarters Sarajevo representatives state.
They note that the second exercise in which members of the AFBiH distinguished themselves was the “Immediate Response” exercise, held at the beginning of the summer in Croatia.
“The Light Infantry Battalion Group (LIBG) of the AFBiH was partnered with the Maryland National Guard of the United States (U.S.) and carried out peace support operations and live-fire training. What is most important is that through participation in this exercise, the AFBiH showed the ability to deploy the LIGB outside the country and maintain it through host-nation support for a period of more than three weeks. This kind of effort is necessary for further improving cooperation between the AFBiH and NATO and allied forces,” NATO Headquarters Sarajevo representatives stated.
Speaking about regional cooperation and the role of BiH in relations with NATO, they highlight the importance of partnership and practical cooperation in strengthening defense capacities.
“All of BiH’s neighbors in the Western Balkans are either NATO member states or partners, in this second case primarily through the Partnership for Peace. Partnerships are based on the sovereign decision of the partner country to develop relations with NATO. For that reason, they are guided by the demands of the country and adapted to the specific needs of each country. Partnerships are developed to promote dialogue and practical cooperation, especially in supporting the modernization of national defense and security institutions and forces. On the other hand, partner countries contribute to many key NATO activities, including defense capacity-building activities, developing interoperability among different forces, and crisis management,” NATO Headquarters Sarajevo concluded for Fena.
