Bosnia and Herzegovina's Minister of Defence Marina Pendeš begins talks with high-ranking officials in Washington

On the first day of her visit to the United States of America, the Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marina Pendeš, on 11/09/2017, held talks in Washington at the State Department with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hoyt Yee, and afterwards with the Director for the Balkans at the White House National Security Council, Brad Berkley, it was announced by the Ministry of Defence of BiH, reports Patria News Agency.

Discussions focused on BiH's progress in the process of registering military property, the implementation of the Defence Review, and increased contribution to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

Minister Pendeš used the meetings to openly discuss the current state, challenges, and perspectives of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of BiH, particularly regarding activities significant for BiH's Euro-Atlantic integration path.

In addition, Minister Pendeš spoke as a panelist at NATO's three-day Conference on Building Integrity in the Defence Sector.

The conference marks the tenth anniversary since the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (EAPC), within the framework of the Planning and Review Process (PAP-DIB), launched an initiative of the same name, in which the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of BiH have been involved from the very beginning. Minister Pendeš is participating in the conference at the invitation of NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Alejandro Alvargonzales.

In her address, Minister Pendeš emphasized that within the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of BiH, more than 180 measures and recommendations have been adopted to eliminate corruption risks and increase trust in institutions. These relate to greater transparency in public procurement, finances, recruitment, procedures for selecting military-diplomatic representatives, training, receiving gifts, combating influence peddling, and similar.

- Within the Action Plan of the Ministry of Defence of BiH, we developed a methodology, and then an Assessment of all positions within the Ministry of Defence of BiH for corruption sensitivity. We carried out this activity in cooperation with the Norwegian Centre for Defence Integrity (CIDS) and we are the first institution in the country to have taken such concrete steps - said Minister Pendeš.

Citing examples of corruption, Minister Pendeš pointed out that work is being done to sanction them. She specifically referred to bribery in the recruitment of new soldiers and the fact that, following disciplinary measures, steps have also been taken to increase transparency and improve oversight of recruitment.

The Minister concluded her presentation with positive examples of adherence to the code of conduct and exemplary engagement of members of the Armed Forces of BiH domestically, as well as in international military operations.

Accompanying Minister Pendeš in the delegation are Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH for Operations, Major General Mirko Tepšić, Assistant Minister for International Cooperation Zoran Šajinović, expert advisor for NATO-PfP programs Admina Pandžić, Deputy Ambassador of BiH to the USA Miljenko Mišić, and Military Envoy of BiH to the USA Brigadier Davorin Vučić.