Civilian NATO exercise begins in BiH

Until September 29, BiH will host the field exercise of NATO EADRCC for disaster response, "Bosnia and Herzegovina 2017", in the wider area of northeastern Bosnia.

Preparations for this exercise with civilian structures of NATO, which will strengthen cooperation between NATO and BiH, have been underway for over a year.

Following the opening ceremony, a demonstration exercise was also held.

The goal of the exercise, jointly organized by the BiH Ministry of Security and the NATO Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC), is to improve the interoperability of international activities in responding to natural disasters.

This is EADRCC's 17th disaster response management exercise, and the first to be conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The decision for the exercise to focus on floods and earthquakes is based on the geological and environmental challenges faced by BiH.

Following the natural disasters in 2014, Bosnia and Herzegovina requested assistance from the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) to cope with the consequences of floods and landslides that devastated a large part of the country. More than 40 countries and several international organizations provided assistance.

At the invitation of the BiH Ministry of Security, NATO sent its civil affairs team in July 2014. The NATO civil team recommended that international training and exercises be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina to increase interoperability between different parties providing assistance in disaster rescue operations.

BiH Minister of Security Dragan Mektić, in his address, pointed out the efforts made by the BiH Ministry of Security and other key institutions at all levels of government in BiH to strengthen the capacities for initial and specialized response to emerging disasters, and that Bosnia and Herzegovina has an opportunity during this exercise to demonstrate the level of preparedness of its institutions relevant to protection and rescue, as well as to become familiar with the practices of international teams.

- Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to help others in need, and especially to strengthen regional cooperation and regional response to potential natural disasters that usually affect multiple countries, and we are closest to each other and can provide assistance the fastest - said Mektić.