General Sir James Everard KCB CBE, in his role as EUFOR Operation Commander, made a visit alongside Admiral James Foggo, Commander of Joint Forces Command (NATO) Naples, to Sarajevo on Wednesday 21 February 2018 in order to discuss EU, NATO and Armed Forces BiH (AFBiH) cooperation at the highest levels.
The visitors were received at Camp Butmir by an honour guard
They spent the day meeting key military figures to discuss the continuing close working relationship between their respective organisations. General Everard and Admiral Foggo met the Minister of Defence for BiH, Ms Marina Pendeš and the Chief of the Joint Staff of AFBiH, Lieutenant General Anto Jeleč, at the Ministry of Defence in Sarajevo, where they spoke about the support that EUFOR gives the BiH authorities in maintaining the safe and secure environment for the population of BiH.
Admiral Foggo also explained the contribution of NATO: "The NATO Alliance remains committed to supporting the Defence sector reforms as part of the progress BiH is making on its Euro-Atlantic integration path."
The two commanders also met with all three members of the BiH Presidency: the Chair Mr. Dragan Čović, Mr Mladen Ivanić and Mr Bakir Izetbegović. The consensus among the members of the Presidency on the activation of a NATO Membership Action Plan for BiH was a key feature of the discussion. General Everard and Admiral Foggo expressed that they will relay this message to their respective political leaders in Brussels.
They also met European Union Special Representative Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, and underlined their support to BiH's endeavor towards further European integration.
EUFOR supports the BiH authorities in maintaining the safe and secure environment in the country, while NATO looks towards the future of BiH as a net contributor to security in the region and around the world. General Everard said: "Co-operation between NATO and the EU leads to better outputs for the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I recognize the significant support that BiH contributes to NATO, EU and UN-led Peace Support Operation and missions around the world."
