Erjavec: Slovenia Willing to Take Part in Peacekeeping Missions
Slovenia will continue to participate in international peacekeeping missions, said Defence Minister Karl Erjavec, and added that it intended to take part in the EU mission to support peace in DR Congo and Sudan's Dafur.
But before Slovenia joins any of the two missions, the country will have to reach a political consensus on it, Erjavec said at an annual meeting of the Novo mesto association of officers on Sunday.
Slovenia would send two liaison officers to DR Congo and another two to Darfur. Besides, a mobile hospital unit would be sent to the Sudanese region, which, according to Erjavec, means that civilian medical staff would be needed too.
The minister believes that taking part in such missions, something that stems from NATO membership, further reaffirms the Slovenian Armed Forces and offers them an opportunity for training.
Erjavec and the officers also discussed the course of integration of the Armed Forces into NATO. Slovenia has 3.8% of its soldiers in NATO peace operations, but intends to increase it to 5.7% this year. The target figure for 2011 is 11%, the minister said.
The minister also spoke about the reorganisation of the Slovenian Armed Forces, stressing that the ministry was working on a new bill on the Slovenian Armed Forces, a key document to their professionalisation.
More articles from this issue:
Archive
|