Common themes with Norway
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- Date: 24.05.2014
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The SVK Ministry of Defence is committed to developing defence cooperation with Norway, especially in the field of EOD and by sharing military training areas. This was confirmed by SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč, following a meeting with Norwegian Minister of Defence Ine Eriksen Søreide.
“I'm pleasantly surprised at the range of topics we broached. Our Norwegian counterparts are most welcome to use our cutting-edge military training areas, whether that be MTA Lešť, TC Zemianske Kostoľany or International Centre EOD Trenčín,” said the head of the SVK MOD. Ministers Glváč and Søreide discussed regional defence cooperation, referred to in the Northern countries as NORDEFCO, with Norway being its member. “We can share expertise particularly from joint procurement projects,” explained Minister Glváč. The Norwegian Minister of Defence noted that when it comes to bilateral cooperation, both countries have a good experience working in the field of EOD. “We also discussed the issue of exchange courses and exercises,” she said. In this respect, Minister Glváč reminded that Norwegian troops are coming to exercise at MTA Lešť later this August. He went on to say that Norwegian soldiers had already gained some experience at MTA Lešť. The last time they had exercised at MTA Lešť was as part of Exercise Village in 2012. Also on the agenda was the Agreement Prohibiting Cluster Munitions. Norway is one of the leaders in this issue on the international scene.
The discussions also centred on the actual situation in Ukraine. Minister Glváč congratulated his Norwegian counterpart on the recent appointment of Maj Gen Kristin Lund as UNFICYP´s Force Commander, who had become the first woman ever to be appointed Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus: “In UNFICYP, we have a total of 157 service personnel and we are the lead country of Sector 4. I am firmly convinced that our cooperation there will be successful and that the new commander can rely 100 per cent on our soldiers,” he said. During his working trip, the Minister also held talks with members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in the Storting (Norwegian Parliament).
“I'm pleasantly surprised at the range of topics we broached. Our Norwegian counterparts are most welcome to use our cutting-edge military training areas, whether that be MTA Lešť, TC Zemianske Kostoľany or International Centre EOD Trenčín,” said the head of the SVK MOD. Ministers Glváč and Søreide discussed regional defence cooperation, referred to in the Northern countries as NORDEFCO, with Norway being its member. “We can share expertise particularly from joint procurement projects,” explained Minister Glváč. The Norwegian Minister of Defence noted that when it comes to bilateral cooperation, both countries have a good experience working in the field of EOD. “We also discussed the issue of exchange courses and exercises,” she said. In this respect, Minister Glváč reminded that Norwegian troops are coming to exercise at MTA Lešť later this August. He went on to say that Norwegian soldiers had already gained some experience at MTA Lešť. The last time they had exercised at MTA Lešť was as part of Exercise Village in 2012. Also on the agenda was the Agreement Prohibiting Cluster Munitions. Norway is one of the leaders in this issue on the international scene.
The discussions also centred on the actual situation in Ukraine. Minister Glváč congratulated his Norwegian counterpart on the recent appointment of Maj Gen Kristin Lund as UNFICYP´s Force Commander, who had become the first woman ever to be appointed Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus: “In UNFICYP, we have a total of 157 service personnel and we are the lead country of Sector 4. I am firmly convinced that our cooperation there will be successful and that the new commander can rely 100 per cent on our soldiers,” he said. During his working trip, the Minister also held talks with members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in the Storting (Norwegian Parliament).
