Al Attiyah in Sarajevo: BiH's NATO membership serves mutual interest

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Bosnia and Herzegovina has a future in NATO, which would benefit from it if BiH became a member of the Alliance, stated Qatar's Minister of Defense Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah (Mohammed Al Attiyah), during an official visit of the delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Qatar to the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of BiH.

The Qatari delegation met with the Minister of Defense of BiH Marina Pendeš and other high-ranking representatives of the MoD and the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH, and during the meeting, they discussed, among other things, bilateral cooperation in the field of defense.

The two delegations discussed the agreement on cooperation in the field of defense between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of Qatar, which is in the approval procedure at the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Presidency of BiH.

As stated during the talks, the signing of the agreement would create conditions for more intensive cooperation between the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of Qatar in the field of defense, as well as better cooperation between the two ministries.

Participants of the meeting emphasized that there are excellent conditions and mutual interest for cooperation in the field of education and training of military personnel of the armed forces of the two countries, as well as participation in peacekeeping operations worldwide.

Minister Al Attiyah also stated that he is interested in the possibility of cooperation with companies in the defense industry in BiH, which, according to Pendeš, is not within the jurisdiction of the MoD of BiH, but that the relevant ministry supports Qatar's expressed commitment to cooperation with BiH institutions, which are responsible for the defense industry.

Representatives of the Qatari and Bosnian-Herzegovinian delegations also discussed current regional challenges, BiH's Euro-Atlantic path, and the activities of the MoD of BiH and BiH as a whole in fulfilling the conditions for admission to the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP).

Qatar's Minister of Defense stated that he supports BiH's Euro-Atlantic path, and that if it becomes a member of the Alliance, the NATO alliance would also benefit.

The Qatari delegation included the Chargé d'affaires of the Embassy of the State of Qatar in BiH Mohammed Ali Al-Marry and Minister Al Attiyah's closest associates, and the delegation of the MoD and AF BiH included, in addition to Pendeš, Deputy Minister Sead Jusić, and the Chief of the Joint Staff of the AF BiH Lieutenant General Senad Mašović and Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the AF BiH Major General Gojko Knežević, with their associates.