Analysis of the Implementation of BiH - NATO Partnership Goals

(Patria) - A working meeting of representatives of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a delegation from the NATO HQ in Brussels is being held on May 9 and 10, 2019, at the BiH Armed Forces Hall, with the aim of analyzing the implementation of BiH - NATO Partnership Goals (Planning and Review Process - PARP). The meeting is attended by heads of organizational units and holders of partnership goals from the Mo BiH, BiH AF generals with their associates and holders of partnership goals from the BiH AF, representatives of the NATO HQ from Brussels and NATO HQ Sarajevo, and EUFOR.

The working meeting was opened by the Assistant Minister of Defence for International Cooperation Zoran Šajinović, Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the BiH AF for Operations Brigadier General Ivica Jerkić, and representative of the Defence Cooperation and Planning Department of the NATO HQ from Brussels Rok Kosirnik. During the meeting, the importance of implementing BiH and NATO partnership goals was highlighted, which primarily relate to the Defence Review, participation of the BiH AF in international operations, cyber security, and many other defence-related activities, as well as the significance of everything the Mo and BiH AF are doing on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration and achieving NATO interoperability.

Assistant Minister of Defence for International Cooperation Zoran Šajinović stated that the 12th cycle of the NATO cooperation activity list was completed in 2018, and the process for the 13th cycle has been initiated. The document "PARP BiH Assessment 2018", adopted by NATO in June 2018, contains 34 partnership goals (PG), of which 16 are general, 15 are for land forces, and 3 are for air forces. The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are responsible for 19 out of a total of 34 partnership goals, and this seventh PARP cycle began in October 2018 with the completion and submission of the PARP questionnaire. Partnership goals are primarily aimed at achieving the capacities and capabilities of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina to contribute to the activities of the "Partnership for Peace" program, as well as achieving the necessary level of interoperability of our armed forces with NATO forces.

Representative of the NATO HQ from Brussels Rok Kosirnik stated that good progress in the implementation of partnership goals continued in the past year, as evidenced by the successful realization of a certain number of partnership goals. Tomorrow, NATO HQ representatives from Brussels are scheduled to meet with high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of BiH and ambassadors of NATO countries in BiH.