Admiral Edmund Giambastiani, the NATO Supreme Allied Command Transformation commander, praised Slovenia's progress during his first official visit to Ljubljana on Friday, saying it was impressive.
Speaking to the press after meeting Chief of Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Major General Ladislav Lipic on Friday, Giambastiani hailed the creation of a professional military in Slovenia.
He said Slovenia's major contribution to NATO will be the nuclear, biological and chemical battalion, planned to be fully operational in 2009. "That is a a very important capability in my view and one which will be a significant contributor to the NATO alliance," he said.
Another significant contribution is an intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance battalion, according to Giambastiani. The admiral also highlighted a centre for mountain training proposed to be established by the Slovenian military and a language training centre.
He also highlighted the importance of troops Slovenian military provided for Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the international security assistance force in Afghanistan.
Major General Lipic said he discussed a number of important issues with the admiral, including the transformation of the Slovenian army and the participation of Slovenian forces in NATO operations.
Lipic said it was important that Slovenia is sending units to international missions that are well-trained and well-equipped as a country of the size of Slovenia can build on quality rather than the size of its units.
According to the Defence Ministry, the centre for mountain training at Pokljuka, NW Slovenia, and the language training centre in Ajsevica, western Slovenia, are close to meeting NATO standards to get the title of centres of excellence.
The admiral also payed a visit to the mountain training centre at Pokljuka, where he discussed the use of the centre's capacities for NATO and its partner states.
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