Deputy Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Policy and Plans Slaven Galić, in the presence of Deputy Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Resource Management Aleksandar Goganović, is in Sarajevo today as Assistant Director of the General Director for International Relations and Strategy (DGIRS). Vice Admiral Christophe Lucas of the French Ministry of Defense signed the Plan of bilateral military cooperation between BiH and the Republic of France for the year 2023.
Annual plans for bilateral military cooperation with France have been signed and implemented since 2008, and mostly relate to the education and training of members of the Armed Forces of BiH in France, cooperation in the work of the Peace Support Operations Training Center (SOOPM/PSOTC) in Butmir and School of foreign languages AF BiH in Rajlovac.
The plan for 2023 maintains the continuity of bilateral cooperation activities, and foresees the implementation of two joint activities in France and nine activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The act of signing the Plan took place after a joint meeting attended by the Chargé d’affaires of the Republic of France in BiH Stephane Maicon, the non-resident French military envoy Brigadier Pierre Desjeux, the head of the Office of the Deputy Minister of Defense of BiH for Policy and Plans Danijela Bilić and other associates.
At the meeting, it was noted mutual satisfaction with the cooperation so far, but also the desire to intensify the existing cooperation.
The delegations also exchanged views on the security situation in Europe, and in the context of the war in Ukraine.
– I hope that in the coming period you will perhaps make a decision on the opening of the position of military envoy on a resident basis, which, as is the practice of many EU and NATO countries, will be permanently located in Sarajevo – said Deputy Minister Galić, emphasizing the desire to military cooperation intensifies even more.
At the same time, he thanked the Embassy of the Republic of France in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the assistance projects of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He also stated that accelerated membership in the EU and NATO for the candidate countries would be an adequate answer for overcoming the current security challenges.
Deputy Minister Goganović noted that France is a proven friend of all citizens of BiH, which is especially evident in BiH’s support for membership in the European Union.
He pointed out that the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina know what war is, and that they will always vote for peace.
Members of the French delegation emphasized that 70 million euros were allocated from EU funds to help the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina and facilitate the energy transition in our country, and that 21 percent of those funds were provided by France.
Vice Admiral Lucas stated that France is ready to expand cooperation in the field of strengthening cyber security and praised the activities within the PSOTC, as well as the Center for Mine Action of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, announced the Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina
