Ugrás a tartalomhozUgrás a menüpontokhozUgrás a lábléchez

Minister of Defence Visits Bosnia-Herzegovina

Szöveg: honvedelem.hu / MTI |  2017. május 30. 16:00

On Monday, 29 May in Sarajevo, Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó held a discussion with the defence minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the days-long tour, the delegation headed by the minister of defence of Hungary – which includes, among others, Chief of Defence Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő – visited the EUFOR Headquarters and the Hungarian troops serving in the country.

Galéria

On Monday, Minister of Defence of Bosnia-Herzegovina Marina Pendes received, on an office call, the delegation headed by Dr. István Simicskó. In a phone interview from Sarajevo, the Hungarian minister told Hungarian news agency MTI that he and his counterpart had discussed the security situation of Europe, the Western Balkans and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the challenges to security and the risks, among them the migration crisis and the threat of terrorism. In addition, they also talked about the expansion of relations between the two countries, and agreed on the need to enhance cooperation between the peace operations training centers.

1596033347

At the discussion, the Hungarian minister of defence reasserted that Hungary supports Bosnia-Herzegovina’s efforts to join the euroatlantic institutions. The defence minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina emphasized the importance of the presence of Hungarian troops. Dr. István Simicskó pointed out that Hungary attaches outstanding importance to the stability of the Western Balkans, and that of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo in particular. “For this reason, around 550 Hungarian troops are serving in the region", he added.

In 1995, NATO assumed responsibility for maintaining stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina and for running a Capacity Building and Training programme for the armed forces of BiH. Since 2004, besides NATO, it is primarily the peacekeeping force of the European Union in Bosnia (EUFOR) that has been performing these tasks. Hungary contributes some 150 troops to the EUFOR peacekeeping mission of the European Union in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country which was formed as a federative state after the Bosnian War. Hungarian peacekeepers have been serving in Bosnia-Herzegovina since 1995.

1596033348

In the second part of his visit, Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó visited the EUFOR Headquarters in Camp Butmir, Sarajevo, where he held discussions and assessed the security situation with Maj.-Gen. Anton Waldner, the commander of EUFOR Operation ALTHEA, and also with Brig.-Gen. Giselle M. Wilz, the commander of NATO HQ Sarajevo (NHQSa). Dr. István Simicskó presented the medal “For the Alliance" to outgoing NHQSa Commander Brig.-Gen. Giselle M. Wilz.

The minister of defence pointed out that both generals highly praised the Hungarian troops’ activities and professionalism.

After the meetings, Dr. István Simicskó also met the Hungarian soldiers at staff meetings, where he spoke about the goals of the armed forces modernization project launched by the government of Hungary. In addition, he reasserted that the troops serving in the Balkans have an important mission.

1596033348

Photos: Ministry of Defence and euforbih.org

Ha érdekelnek a Magyar Honvédség hírei, iratkozz fel hírlevelünkre!
Gyermeknap a Honvéd Üdülőben
Franciaország és Oroszország kész együttműködni a szíriai válság megoldása érdekében