On Tuesday, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Resource Management, Aleksandar Goganović, received Benjamin Sturtewagen, the head of the Diplomatic Office of the Kingdom of Belgium in BiH, in Sarajevo on an official visit.
The topic of discussion was the possibility of developing bilateral military cooperation between BiH and Belgium, in accordance with the plans of the Kingdom of Belgium to open its embassy in BiH in the near future. The Kingdom of Belgium does not have a resident military envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the Belgian military envoy based in Belgrade, Brigadier David Lambeens, who also participated in the meeting, is in charge of military contacts. The guests from Belgium were interested in the priorities of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of BiH and in which aspects Belgium’s help would be welcome.
Deputy Minister Goganović pointed out that relations between BiH and Belgium are friendly and expressed the expectation that they will rise to an even higher level. He pointed out that there is a consensus in Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the goal of BiH becoming a full member of the European Union. He emphasized that there is no such consensus on membership in NATO, but that cooperation with the NATO alliance is welcome. Goganović stated that the constituent session of the Commission for BiH Cooperation with NATO, in which he will be the co-chairman, is expected in the near future.
The interlocutors agreed to intensify official meetings in the coming period in order to create the conditions for the establishment of bilateral military cooperation as soon as possible.
The meeting was also attended by Assistant Ministers of Defense of BiH Zoran Šajinović and Dženan Redžo, Head of the Office of the Deputy Minister of Defense of BiH for Policy and Plans Danijela Bilić and Head of the Cabinet of the Deputy Minister of Defense of BiH for Resource Management Slaviša Stjepanović.
