The Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski, leading the military delegation of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia today in Sarajevo, paid a visit to the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After being welcomed, with high military honors, General Gjurchinovski met with the Deputy Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirko Okolikj and his host the Chief of the Joint Staff, Lieutenant General Senad Mashovikj, and afterwards there were official talks with leading members of the Joint Staff.
During the official meeting, Generals Gjurchinovski and Mashovikj discussed strengthening the already well-established bilateral defence cooperation and sharing experiences from our integration process into the NATO Alliance, which is also a strategic aim of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both sides, among other things, were satisfied with the training and education of the members of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, at the Peace Support Operations Training Centre of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Butmir, as well as the education of the members of the Armed Forces of BIH at the Public Affairs Regional Centre in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The Deputy Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirko Okolikj, at their meeting, expressed his satisfaction for the cooperation so far, and said that he expected the tradition of exchanging experiences and support between the two countries to continue in the future.
General Gjurchinovski at the meeting with Okolikj, said that the mutual cooperation would continue to develop, to the benefit of both countries. He also emphasized that the Republic of North Macedonia, as fully-fledged member of NATO, was prepared to provide all the necessary help for the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Alliance and other international organizations. The conclusions drawn at the recent Forum B-9 Conference of the Chiefs of Staff, which was held this Thursday in Sarajevo, were met with approval and positive reactions from the participants of the meeting.
The bilateral defense cooperation with the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina involves military education, participation in joint multinational exercises, courses at the Public Affairs Regional Centre, participation of medical task forces and joint participation in regional initiatives A-9 and B-9.
Tomorrow, a delegation led by General Gjurchinovski will visit Camp Butmir, where he will meet with the EUFOR Commander, Major General Alexander Platzer.
