ACAST – LCC Conference 2010

At the opening of the Conference, the President and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Ivo Josipovic pointed out that the Conference can be seen as a statement of support and confidence to Croatia as a new NATO member.

In addition to allied army commanders and representatives of NATO countries,  delegates of the Partnership for Peace countries, including Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Switzerland, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Israel, which participates in the Mediterranean Dialogue, and the United Arab Emirates, the signatory of the Istanbul Initiative have been participating on the Conference.

The conference discussed the role of NATO in the 21st century, the new NATO command structure/NATO in transformation, NATO operations in Afghanistan, the Centre of Excellence, and its role, tasks and possibilities of providing support to partner countries, as well as future military cooperation, lessons learned, constraints and challenges. Also, one of the topics was devoted to the Republic of Croatia under the name “Republic of Croatia, from candidate to NATO member, lessons learned and experiences during the process”.

The above topics were addressed by the envoy of the NATO Secretary General, Ambassador Jiri Sedivi, representative of the ACT Commander retired Admiral Jorgen Berggrav, British Lieutenant General Nick Parker, ISAF Deputy Commander, the dean of the Zagreb Faculty of Political Science, Vlatko Cvrtila, Colonel Santiago San Antonio from the Joint Staff of Spain, and the German Brigadier General Gerhard Schulz, Chief of Military Cooperation Department from Joint Force Command Naples.
During the introductory speeches, the president of the Republic of Croatia Ivo Josipovic said that he was extremely proud with the effects, professional work and reputation of the CAF. “Established and developed in specific circumstances, Croatian Armed Forces today are modern armed forces, organized and structured in accordance with the needs and capabilities of state and society and in accordance with internationally agreed commitments”, the President said. When talking about participation of the Croatian Armed Forces in peacekeeping missions, with emphasis on the situation in Afghanistan, the president said that: “he sees the role, place and tasks of the armed forces in the 21st century as an essential factor in creating conditions for a smooth economic, social, cultural and any other development of our societies and countries”.
In his media statement during the Conference opening, the Commander of the Allied Forces Command Madrid, Spanish Lieutenant General Alfred Cardona Torres said that the quality of Croatian participation in NATO was reflected in the extraordinary organization of this Conference. Also, the Commander of the Allied Force Command Heidelberg, U.S. Lieutenant General John W. Morgan III, said that this Conference, and Croatia’s support and assistance have been very much helping the closer alliance.