prijava
SARAJEVO, January 3 (FENA) - Bosnia and Herzegovina's former military representative to NATO, Dr. Alija Kožljak believes that sending the document "BiH Reform Program" to NATO Headquarters in Brussels to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization actually means the submission of the first Annual National Program (ANP).
Author: Muamer Selimbegović
Commenting on the inquiry regarding the nature of the document and the further procedure in that regard, Kožljak told FENA that there were many facts confirming his earlier assessment, recalling that BiH has invoked the offer of NATO member countries and submitted the said document.
He specified that the structure of the document (BiH Reform Program) was absolutely compatible with the structure of the ANP, recalling that the document itself indicated that it was comprised for the period 2019-2020.
“The very confirmation that NATO received the document (BiH Reform Program) means that Bosnia and Herzegovina has submitted its first ANP,” Kožljak explained.
At the same time, he assessed it as a major step forward, stating that it was primarily important to submit the said document and to essentially activate the MAP (Membership Action Plan).
Referring to the further procedure in this regard, Kožljak points out that, what follows now is a series of meetings with NATO members, but also in the format "NATO + BiH", at which the mentioned document and the presented reforms would be discussed in the course of 2020.
At these meetings, he said, the implementation of the planned reforms and what would be built into the second cycle, i.e., the program for the next year, would also be evaluated.
“The activation of the MAP, by submitting the said program, brings another benefit, namely the concrete steps with the 'Defense Review', which is in some way conditioned by the activation of the MAP,” Kožljak states, recalling that it is a document agreed in 2016, which could not be launched the because of this conditioning.
He believes that this will accelerate numerous reforms, especially those in the field of defense, including changes in the structure of the AF BiH and the issue of the so-called active reserves, modernization and development of the AF in the period until 2027, as well as other areas that will accelerate the interoperability of the AF BiH with NATO standards.
(FENA) S. R.
