Minister Gajdoš hosts talks with Dutch Ambassador H. Cor van der Kwast
- Author:
- Photo:
- Date: 01.06.2018
- Share: Zdieľať na Facebook
SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš met with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Slovakia, HE Mr Henk Cor van der Kwast, at MOD Main Building on 1 June. During their bilateral meeting, they addressed current issues of interest, bilateral defence engagement, the cooperation within NATO and the EU, especially the PESCO initiative and projects. Ambassador van der Kwast handed over the Dutch 2018 Defence White Book to Minister Gajdoš, to provide information on the planned capabilities and defence investment in the Netherlands.
Speaking of the efforts to enhance NATO and EU responsiveness, SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš commented: “Through our active cooperation within NATO and the EU, we can help align procedures on defence and security, which will allow us to respond efficiently and timely to the changing security environment.” He further underscored the importance of both countries retaining their unanimously pro-European and pro-Atlantic direction.
Also discussed were the commitments arising out of our membership in international organisations. Elaborating on this, Minister Gajdoš spoke about the deployment of up to 152 SVK personnel to the Baltics as part of enhanced Forward Presence (eFP), as well as about the SVK contribution to the NTCB-I training activity in Iraq, where SVK personnel are training ISF personnel in mechanical demining and how to repair and maintain Soviet-era military equipment. In this connection, he thanked the Netherlands for its financial support to the SVK-led demining project in Iraq. On the EU agenda, they talked about the successful SVK-led PESCO Indirect Fire Support (EuroArtillery) project and the Dutch-led PESCO Military Mobility project.
On training and education, Head of the SVK MOD expressed his appreciation for the Dutch long-term role in the International Staff Officers Course (ISOC) at the M. R. Štefánik SVK Armed Forces Academy Liptovský Mikuláš. At the same time, he saw potential in collaborating on joint training and deployments. He offered the CBRN Training and Testing Centre Zemianske Kostoľany and the NATO COE EOD Trenčín as venues for future joint training activities.
Also discussed were the commitments arising out of our membership in international organisations. Elaborating on this, Minister Gajdoš spoke about the deployment of up to 152 SVK personnel to the Baltics as part of enhanced Forward Presence (eFP), as well as about the SVK contribution to the NTCB-I training activity in Iraq, where SVK personnel are training ISF personnel in mechanical demining and how to repair and maintain Soviet-era military equipment. In this connection, he thanked the Netherlands for its financial support to the SVK-led demining project in Iraq. On the EU agenda, they talked about the successful SVK-led PESCO Indirect Fire Support (EuroArtillery) project and the Dutch-led PESCO Military Mobility project.
On training and education, Head of the SVK MOD expressed his appreciation for the Dutch long-term role in the International Staff Officers Course (ISOC) at the M. R. Štefánik SVK Armed Forces Academy Liptovský Mikuláš. At the same time, he saw potential in collaborating on joint training and deployments. He offered the CBRN Training and Testing Centre Zemianske Kostoľany and the NATO COE EOD Trenčín as venues for future joint training activities.
