Slovakia marks 14th anniversary of its entry into the North Atlantic Alliance
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- Date: 29.03.2018
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The Slovak Republic marked the 14th anniversary of its entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Since 29 March 2004 it has been a member of the international community of 29 states, which provides highest security guarantees to its members. Slovakia entered NATO along with Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia.
On our membership in NATO, SVK Minister of Defence said: “Over the past 14 years we have become a well-respected ally. We have been taking maximum efforts to follow through on our commitments and we will do our best to contribute not only to strengthening collective defence but also to enhancing our self-defence, as required by Article 3 of the Washington Treaty, so that we are not only a consumer but also a contributor to security.”
In this context, he underlined the importance of the NATO Wales Summit commitments, to increase spending on defence and modernisation, which the SVK Government committed itself to in its Government Manifesto. To that end, the SVK MOD worked out the Long-Term Defence Development Plan with an Outlook to 2030. Based on this, the SVK MOD is now delivering the modernisation of the SVK Armed Forces.
The Washington Treaty was signed by 12 NATO founding states on 4 April 1949. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty provides NATO Member States with the guarantee of collective defence, this means our country can count on the support of our Allies in the event of an armed attack. NATO membership also entails the commitment to developing oneʼs individual capacity to self-defence. The North Atlantic Alliance has been involved actively in international crisis management operations, with the participation of SVK personnel. Thousands of SVK Armed Forces personnel have rotated in and out of NATO operations and missions over the past 14 years of Slovakiaʼs membership in NATO. Thanks to this, they have gained invaluable experience in the international environment.
On our membership in NATO, SVK Minister of Defence said: “Over the past 14 years we have become a well-respected ally. We have been taking maximum efforts to follow through on our commitments and we will do our best to contribute not only to strengthening collective defence but also to enhancing our self-defence, as required by Article 3 of the Washington Treaty, so that we are not only a consumer but also a contributor to security.”
In this context, he underlined the importance of the NATO Wales Summit commitments, to increase spending on defence and modernisation, which the SVK Government committed itself to in its Government Manifesto. To that end, the SVK MOD worked out the Long-Term Defence Development Plan with an Outlook to 2030. Based on this, the SVK MOD is now delivering the modernisation of the SVK Armed Forces.
The Washington Treaty was signed by 12 NATO founding states on 4 April 1949. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty provides NATO Member States with the guarantee of collective defence, this means our country can count on the support of our Allies in the event of an armed attack. NATO membership also entails the commitment to developing oneʼs individual capacity to self-defence. The North Atlantic Alliance has been involved actively in international crisis management operations, with the participation of SVK personnel. Thousands of SVK Armed Forces personnel have rotated in and out of NATO operations and missions over the past 14 years of Slovakiaʼs membership in NATO. Thanks to this, they have gained invaluable experience in the international environment.
