J. Naď: The level of bilateral cooperation with Germany in the political-military area is excellent and represents a significant step towards achieving common goals

Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic Jaroslav Naď and Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer held a videoconference during which they discussed the current developments, the priorities in the area of defence and security, bilateral and multilateral cooperation issues within the EU and NATO, as well as evaluating Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Moreover, they talked about other options of cooperation between the two countries including combating hybrid threats.

“The level of bilateral cooperation with Germany in the political-military area is excellent and represents a significant step towards achieving common goals. I believe that strong partnership and mutual confidence can contribute towards even more effective performance of tasks in the area of defence and security, which already bears fruit,”  SVK Minister of Defence Jaroslav Naď said. He added that specific results of such cooperation can be seen not only within military education provided by General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Armed Forces Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš and Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg, but especially during the performance of international crisis management tasks.

German Minister of Defence Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer appreciated Slovakia’s contribution to Op EUNAVFOR MED Sophia, during which the SVK Military Police team served on a German frigate in the Mediterranean Sea. “Participation of the Military Police members in this operation is the most significant project of our military cooperation with Germany. I am convinced that the Slovak team will be greatly beneficial to the successive Operation IRINI and will once again confirm its qualities,” Minister of Defence said.

Other topics of the ministerial level talks included the EU projects and initiatives. In this connection, Minister Jaroslav Naď appreciated the compromise reached on the rules of participation of third countries in the PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) projects, as well as the completion of its strategic revision. Attention was also paid to the submitted joint analysis of threats as a first step in preparation of the EU Strategic Compass.

The Head of the SVK MOD informed Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer about the new Defence Strategy of the Slovak Republic already approved by the SVK Government, as well as about the progress achieved in modernization projects including the procurement of new 3D radar systems for the SVK Air Force, the current pandemic situation, and the plans related to the modernization of land vehicles.