Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of BiH Enriched with Nine New Engineering Machines

A handover ceremony for engineering machines donated to the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the People's Republic of China was held on July 23 at the barracks „Rajlovac OS BiH“, Sarajevo.

The host of the ceremony and signatory of the handover certificate on behalf of the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina was Minister of Defence Marina Pendeš. Apart from Minister Pendeš, the ceremony was also attended by Deputy Minister of Defence Emir Suljagić, Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH for Operations Major General Mirko Tepšić, and high officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On behalf of the donor, the People's Republic of China, the signatory of the handover certificate was the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to BiH, H.E. Dong Chunfeng, and the ceremony was also attended, besides H.E., by the Military Attaché of the People's Republic of China, Brigadier Liu Xingjiang, and the Assistant Military Attaché, Colonel Zang Zizhe.

In his address to those present, Ambassador Dong Chunfeng pointed out the importance of this donation to the Armed Forces of BiH with the aim of enhancing their capabilities and operational readiness, primarily in assisting civilian structures in BiH. Chunfeng noted that the first part of the donated engineering machines, which has been in operation and on the ground for several years, played a significant role in the assistance provided by the Armed Forces of BiH after the major floods that hit BiH last year.

Pendeš emphasized that it is a great honor to host such a ceremony and highlighted the importance of this donation in strengthening the operational readiness and capacities of the Armed Forces of BiH.

She also stressed the fact that the previous donation of engineering machines by the People's Republic of China played a major role in providing assistance to civilian structures in previous years, especially in the engagement of the Armed Forces of BiH during rescue operations and the remediation of the consequences of the major floods in BiH in 2014.

Minister Pendeš stated that efforts will be made to dispatch at least two of the nine donated engineering machines today to provide assistance to civilian structures in BiH. Finally, the Minister once again thanked for this valuable donation, which represents a very important segment in the effort to make the Armed Forces of BiH a factor of security both in the region and in the world.