Defence Minister visits the Croatian Navy
The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence, Damir Krstičević on 25 November visited the Croatian Navy in Split, accompanied by the State Secretary Zdravko Jakop, and the Special Advisory to the Minister Ivica Ušljebrka, and the delegation of the General , headed by the Chief, General Mirko Šundov. They were welcomed by the Navy Commander, Rear admiral Predrag Stipanović.
The Minister paid the tribute in the Memorial Room of the Fallen Members of the Croatian Navy in the Navy Command in the Barracks “Sv. Nikola“. The Rear admiral Stipanović delivered a presentation on the mission, the area of responsibility and the achieved results as well as the trainedness and preparedness of the members of the Croatian Navy.
The Minister praised the presented capabilities and stated that the Croatian Navy was a highly important service of the Croatian Armed Forces“.
“I am glad that we have today recalled the very early days of the Croatian Navy and paid tribute to our friends and fellow combatants fallen in the Homeland War“. The Minister also emphasised that the focus of his office, which he recently assumed, would be on the human capital:
“Our soldiers are our primary asset – during the war period, in the 1990ies, the Croatian defenders were poorly equipped, but the motivation and conviction prevailed“.
It is most gratifying to see the members of the Croatian Navy attain high standards and give substantial contribution to the peace support operations and missions, with a distinctive Croatian touch“, said Minister Krstičević.
Touching on the defence budget, the Minister stated that it was time to revers the trends and to procure sufficient resources for the Croatian Armed Forces to enable further consolidation of the system, which is particularly important in view of the changing threats, which call for superseding the reactive approach with a new, one, predicting and preventing the threats .
“Your assignment will be to allocate the resources cost-effectively, precisely defining the goals, and managing the projects to make optimal use of the budget, creating new values and capabilities.
Minister Krstičević visited the Croatian Navy Operations Centre and the Barracks “Sveti Juraj” at Žrnovnica, toured the missile boats “Dubrovnik” and “Vukovar” in the Lora Navy Port and visited the PCE d.o.o. in Split and the Split Shipyard, where he was briefed on the building of the inshore patrol vessel.
The Minister concluded his visit to the Croatian Navy by praising the effort and contribution by its members to the development of the Croatian Armed Forces.
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