The meeting of Western Balkans Defence Policy Directors

Having extended welcome to the representatives of the member countries on behalf of the host country, the Croatian Assistant Defence Minister for Defence Policy Zoran Drča presented thoroughly the Conference, which comprises the meetings of the defence ministers and officials of the three regional initiatives, namely the A-5 Initiative the Southeast Europe Defence Ministerial and the Western Balkanks Defence Policy Directors.

The Western Balkans Defence Policy Directors meeting gathered the representatives of Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia, who discussed the current developments in the European strategic environment and their impact on the regional security and defence co-operation and raised a question regarding the future orientation and format of the initiative.

The Croatian Assistant Defence Minister Zoran Drča in the introductory address said the current security challenges in east Europe and in the Middle East had significant direct and indirect implications on southeast Europe as well.  “Numerous threats such as radicalism, foreign combatants and the impact of the crises and conflicts in Syria and Iraq (the migrant crisis)called for a common approach and enhanced regional co-operation.  The co-ordinated co-operation is the sole efficient response to new threats which undermine the stability of southeast Europe“, said Drča, who emphasised the joint efforts in the international operations, particularly in Afghanistan, and the common contribution to international security as a respectable proof of the viability of regional co-operation under challenging conditions. For that reason the Croatian Assistant Minister expressed support to the continued co-operation  within the WBDPD format , which gathers the Western Balkans countries, the members of the Euro-Atlantic integrations and the aspirant countries. He also pledged the support of the Republic of Croatia to the enlargement policy and to the EU and NATO aspirant countries.

All participants welcomed  the  WBDPD meeting as a suitable platform to discuss new threats and challenges , to gain insight into the situation in the region and wider and to produce the proposals and ideas for common operation, through missions, operations, the exchange of experiences, training and the like. The meeting itself presented proposals to be discussed in the upcoming meetings.

In conclusion, the participants reconfirmed the regional defence policy directors co-operation as an adequate format for the exchange of experiences with respect to the reform of the defence systems , the building of the capabilities and interoperability underpinning the Euro-Atlantic integration processes.

The representatives of the participating countries expressed shared views on the current security challanges in the region and wider and expressed strong orientation to continued and enhanced regional co-operation as a prerequisite for peace, security and stability.

WBDPD is a forum incepted in 2007, serving as a platform for southeast Europe defence policy directors to exchange the views, experiences and information related to defence reforms, the participation in international missions and operations and the measures focused on enhancing and intensifying the regional co-operation.