prijava
SARAJEVO, December 12 (FENA) - Commander of the Allied Joint Forces Naples, Admiral James G. Foggo, said today in Sarajevo that NATO has been present in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a long time and is here to assist the BiH Armed Forces in their development and advancement of professional standards.
Commenting on the journalists’ questions regarding the Euro-Atlantic path of BiH, namely the mood towards NATO membership in RS and FBiH, and the assertion that the entity of RS wants to follow Serbia in this regard, Admiral Foggo said he does not see a dichotomy in this regard, and that he has just returned from Serbia, where he spent two days.
“Serbia has a partnership with NATO, that is, the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) and also has the opportunity to seek membership if it wants,” said Foggo, adding that Serbia has chosen to be a good partner, as evidenced by 1,600 affiliate programs.
This, as he said, included mobile teams for training NCOs, as well as participating in exercises such as 'REGEX 2018', which allowed for the transfer of NATO experiences and standards.
“This also includes cooperation with the United States, as one of NATO members, that is, with our air force, and one such exercise was conducted together with US forces in 2017 in Serbia,” explains Foggo.
Regarding non-NATO cooperation, he specified that Serbia has very good cooperation with the Ohio National Guard, as Bosnia and Herzegovina also has good cooperation with the Maryland National Guard.
In the same context, Admiral Foggo recalled that NATO has been present in BiH for a very long time (IFOR, SFOR, NATO Headquarters Sarajevo) and that this partnership continues, and that it is BiH's right as a democratic society to choose what kind of relationship it wants with NATO.
Admiral Foggo attended the handover ceremony of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo today at the BiH Armed Forces Hall.
(FENA) S. R.
