Sixty-seven members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) currently serve in peacekeeping missions worldwide, Minister of Defence Marina Pendes said at the press conference on Monday.
Pendes emphasized that 67 members of BiH Armed Forces (AF BiH) are currently participating in different tasks in four peacekeeping missions in NATO operation in Afghanistan, EU training mission in Central African Republic, UN peacekeeping mission in Congo and UN mission in Mali.
BiH aims to integrate all of its defence capabilities in the global security system based on international cooperation, capabilities and engagement in order to offer high-quality capacities in peacekeeping missions.
“Officials and soldiers have been actively engaging in giving assistance at various crises locations worldwide for 17 years, thus confirming being true ambassadors of our country,” Pendes concluded.
Interior Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), one of the entities in BiH, Aljosa Campara, said that BiH police officers are helping Liberia, South Sudan and Cyprus in training and improving of their police structures.
“This is our contribution to the world peace, and I consider it to be our obligation. ” said Campara adding that BiH has evaluated from a state in need of foreign aid to a state that helps other countries. Since 2000, under the aegis of the EU, NATO and the UN, BiH has contributed to the peacekeeping missions worldwide by sending 1498 members of Armed Forces in different operations.