Meeting of Minister Vukelic and Slovenian Minister Jelusic
On the sidelines of the “NATO integration in Southeast Europe – the development of a common transatlantic vision and future prospects” regional conference, held on 30 and 31 of May 2010 in Bitola, Macedonia, Defence Minister Branko Vukelic met Slovenian Minister of Defence Ljubica Jelusic.
During the talks, the ministers agreed that cooperation between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Slovenia in the field of military defence have been excellent and very intense. Continuous meetings have been held at the military and defence political level, experience in the area of defence reforms have been exchanged, as well as experience on the participation in international operations and missions. The experience of Croatia which has three OMLTs in ISAF is invaluable for Slovenia, since Slovenia is preparing to send its first OMLT to ISAF in autumn this year.
Minister Vukelic and Minister Jelusic also agreed that good cooperation between Slovenia and Croatia in defence and military field is essential to security and stability in the region and serve as a model for other countries in the region on the path towards Euro-Atlantic integration. Experiences of Slovenia and Croatia, which are both NATO members, can help the countries of Southeast Europe in their efforts to join NATO, as Minister Vukelic and Minister Jelusic clearly confirmed during a conference in Bitola.
The next meeting of Minister Vukelic and Minister Jelusic have been scheduled for mid-July this year in Metlika, Slovenia.