Minister Krstičević attends NATO Defence Ministers meeting
The Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević is attending the two day meeting (13 – 14 February 2018) of NATO defence ministers, on the margins of the meeting the Minister met with his counterparts from the United States, the United Kingdom, Montenegro and Poland.
Minister Krstičević reviewed the ongoing bilateral co-operation between Croatia and the United States and the Croatian contribution to the international peace activities, with the emphasis on NATO. Secretary of Defense James Mattis praised the Croatia and its Armed Forces and their contribution.
Minister Krstičević talked with the UK Defence Secretary GavinWilliams, and praised the expanding military co-operation based on the Agreement of Understanding between the two Ministries of Defence; the two ministers also addressed the upcoming arrival of the British vessels, Royal Marines and “Typhoon“ combat aircraft to the Republic of Croatia. They also exchanged views on the security situation, primarily in southeast Europe and agreed to hold a formal meeting shortly.
At the meeting with the Defence Minister of Montenegro Predrag Bošković the good co-operation to date was praised and the importance of joint training of the armed forces units deployed to NATO-led operations and missions, following the previous positive experience from the joint engagement in Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.
The Croatian and Montenegrin ministers also discussed the future co-operation within the U.S. Adriatic Charter, and Minister Krstičević pledged to transfer the experiences of the Croatian Armed Forces members engaged in NATO Enhanced Forward Presence.
The Croatian and Montenegrin defence ministers discussed the expanded co-operation in education, particularly regarding the maritime forces, and defence industry, which is of importance for the modernisation of the two respective armed forces, stemming from NATO membership.
At the meeting with the Minister of National Defence of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak the two ministers praised the ongoing co-operation, to be further upgraded through the Agreement on Co-operation of the Croatian and the Polish Ministry of Defence. Minister Krstičević emphasised that the Enhanced Forward Presence in Poland was important for the training of the Croatian Armed Forces and stated the intent of the Croatian Ministry of Defence to continue the engagement in the upcoming period, as necessary and based on the decisions of the Croatian Parliament.
Minister Krstičević and Minister Błaszczak outlined the possibilities to expand the co-operation with bilateral and multinational joint training activities.
Ministar Krstičević underlined the successes of the Croatian defence industry and its products, which are of potential interest for Poland, which has invested important sums to equip and modernise its armed forces and invited the Polish Minister to visit the ASDA (Adriatic Sea Defense and Aerospace Exhibition), traditionally held in Split in the first half of 2019, offering an opportunity for co-operation Croatian and Polish businesses in defence.
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