Minister in visit to Montenegro
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- Date: 06.06.2017
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Slovak Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš paid a visit on 5 and 6 June to Montenegro, which officially became a NATO Member Country. On this occasion, Head of the Slovak MOD conveyed his congratulations to President Filip Vujanović of Montenegro at his residence in Cetinje and later also to Chairman of the Montenegrin Parliament Ivan Brajović in Podgorica.
He reassured the country's highest representatives that Slovakia is committed to supporting Montenegro's further integration efforts. He emphasised that now that we are Allies our countries have the opportunity to develop broader cooperation, not just in the field of defence. He reminded that Member Countries have been faced with security challenges – most notably terrorism, extremism and illegal migration. President of Montenegro Filip Vujanović thanked the Minister for the support to Montenegro's NATO integration process and expressed his conviction that Montenegro's entry into the Alliance will mean a new quality of communications and better chances to step up the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
In his remarks, Minister Gajdoš underscored: “It matters to us that Montenegro becomes a member of the European Union, the enlargement of which we had underscored as a vital policy tool during the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union. NATO membership may help Montenegro's EU integration efforts.”
Peter Gajdoš was the first minister to hold discussions with Predrag Bošković, his Montenegrin counterpart and now NATO Ally upon Montenegro's official accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. He congratulated him on Montenegro acceding to NATO and invited him for an official visit to the Slovak Republic.
Speaking during the meeting, he remarked: “We are ready to share our lessons learned from the Armed Forces reform with Montenegro, to advance cooperation on armaments, defence industry and military education, and to cooperate as part of the NATO Force Integration Unit – NFIU.” To the new Ally, we are ready to make available our training facilities, including the CBRN Defence Centre Zemianske Kostoľany and the CoE EOD Trenčín.
Within the NATO agenda, the defence engagement between the Slovak Republic and Montenegro is focused on current security challenges, especially the fight against terrorism, extremism, illegal migration, as well as on cyber threats that resonated with leaders at the May meeting of NATO Member Countries in Brussels.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Defence of Montenegro Predrag Boškovićnoted: “I am convinced that the entry into NATO is only the first step and a great deal of work in favour of the Alliance is still awaiting us, because NATO membership means having not only advantages but also commitments.” He went on to add that Montenegrin soldiers are already participating in 4 missions abroad. In this connection, Minister Gajdoš stated that to date more than 18,000 service members have rotated in and out of international crisis management operations. Currently, 265 personnel are deployed on operations and missions abroad. And another 149 are stationed in Latvia as part of a training mission.
“We have identified numerous overlapping areas of interest in bilateral cooperation. We agreed that we are not and will not be only consumers of peace but we want to be active contributors to security in the world,” concluded Slovak Minister of Defence Gajdoš. He extended his invitation to Montenegrin soldiers to participate in this year's Exercise Slovak Shield.
He reassured the country's highest representatives that Slovakia is committed to supporting Montenegro's further integration efforts. He emphasised that now that we are Allies our countries have the opportunity to develop broader cooperation, not just in the field of defence. He reminded that Member Countries have been faced with security challenges – most notably terrorism, extremism and illegal migration. President of Montenegro Filip Vujanović thanked the Minister for the support to Montenegro's NATO integration process and expressed his conviction that Montenegro's entry into the Alliance will mean a new quality of communications and better chances to step up the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
In his remarks, Minister Gajdoš underscored: “It matters to us that Montenegro becomes a member of the European Union, the enlargement of which we had underscored as a vital policy tool during the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union. NATO membership may help Montenegro's EU integration efforts.”
Peter Gajdoš was the first minister to hold discussions with Predrag Bošković, his Montenegrin counterpart and now NATO Ally upon Montenegro's official accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. He congratulated him on Montenegro acceding to NATO and invited him for an official visit to the Slovak Republic.
Speaking during the meeting, he remarked: “We are ready to share our lessons learned from the Armed Forces reform with Montenegro, to advance cooperation on armaments, defence industry and military education, and to cooperate as part of the NATO Force Integration Unit – NFIU.” To the new Ally, we are ready to make available our training facilities, including the CBRN Defence Centre Zemianske Kostoľany and the CoE EOD Trenčín.
Within the NATO agenda, the defence engagement between the Slovak Republic and Montenegro is focused on current security challenges, especially the fight against terrorism, extremism, illegal migration, as well as on cyber threats that resonated with leaders at the May meeting of NATO Member Countries in Brussels.
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Defence of Montenegro Predrag Boškovićnoted: “I am convinced that the entry into NATO is only the first step and a great deal of work in favour of the Alliance is still awaiting us, because NATO membership means having not only advantages but also commitments.” He went on to add that Montenegrin soldiers are already participating in 4 missions abroad. In this connection, Minister Gajdoš stated that to date more than 18,000 service members have rotated in and out of international crisis management operations. Currently, 265 personnel are deployed on operations and missions abroad. And another 149 are stationed in Latvia as part of a training mission.
“We have identified numerous overlapping areas of interest in bilateral cooperation. We agreed that we are not and will not be only consumers of peace but we want to be active contributors to security in the world,” concluded Slovak Minister of Defence Gajdoš. He extended his invitation to Montenegrin soldiers to participate in this year's Exercise Slovak Shield.
