BiH Deputy Minister of Defense for Policy and Plans Slaven Galić, together with BiH Deputy Minister of Defense for Resource Management Aleksandar Goganović, today received the Deputy Under-Secretary of the United Nations and the UN Director for Combating Terrorism, Raffi Gregorian, for an official visit.
This American diplomat is known to the domestic public as one of the co-chairmen of the BiH Defense Reform Commission, on the basis of which the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of BiH were formed in 2005. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gregorian held the position of chief deputy of the high representative of the international community, and was also a supervisor for Brčko. This week he is visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the capacity of head of the UN Office for Combating Terrorism, which was founded six years ago.
The meeting with the Deputy Ministers of Defense of BiH was also attended by Secretary of the MoD of BiH Muhamed Smajić, Chief Inspector of the MoD of BiH, Brigadier General Mirsad Ahmić, and Political Advisor in the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator Irina Liczek. They discussed various aspects of the counter-terrorist fight in the world, the wider participation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in international peace operations, UN missions in Congo and Mali, where the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina have military observers or officers in the operations headquarters. They also discussed the possibilities of cooperation with the Training Center for Peace Support Operations (SOOPM/PSOTC) of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Center for Mine Action and Destruction of Unexploded Ordnance of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Speaking about the situation in the world and the region, Gregorian stated that the terrorist threat in BiH is minimal and that the security institutions of BiH are keeping the situation well under control. He stated that one should always be awake and alert.
Deputy Ministers Galić and Goganović stated that the security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is stable, which was also confirmed by EUFOR, and both emphasized the importance of further extending EUFOR’s mandate in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Galić also expressed his belief that the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina would be even easier to fight against terrorist threats if Bosnia and Herzegovina were a full member of the EU and NATO. Goganović emphasized that the whole world should unite in the fight against terrorism while respecting international law, including international human rights law and international humanitarian law, but in which he sees the UN as an umbrella institution. At the same time, he strongly condemned the latest terrorist attacks on Israel.
“Peace, stability and security of BiH is imperative, with respect for the Dayton Agreement, which stipulates that all decisions are made by agreement of three nations and two entities, and the officials of the Republika Srpska are focused on cooperation with NATO in accordance with the Reform Program, which in 2019 adopted by the BiH Presidency,” emphasized Goganović.
During the meeting, the interlocutors were also reminded of the time when the defense reform was negotiated, which everyone stated was one of the most successful in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a thank you for his work in the BiH Defense Reform Commission, Deputy Minister Galić presented Gregorian with the Golden Plaque of the Ministry of Defense of BiH.
“By negotiating a consensus on the new defense system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we achieved that no one got everything they asked for, but everyone got what they needed. We created the joint Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the future, as armed forces for new generations,” concluded Gregorian, the Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced.
