Conference of Chiefs of Defense in the Balkan Countries

The 13th edition of the Conference of Chiefs of Defense in the Balkan Countries, on Military Cooperation Issues, will take place on Wednesday, September 4, at Marriott Hotel in Bucharest.

The event, organized by the Romanian Defense Staff, is attended by delegations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey and, as observers, Croatia and Slovenia.

Special guests are Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Lieutenant General Omer Lavoie, Deputy Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Lieutenant General Carlos Humberto Loitey, UN Military Advisor for Peacekeeping Operations, and Brigadier General Fernando Paglialunga (Italy).

At the end of the Conference, around 2:30 pm, there will be press statements of Romanian Chief of Defense, General Nicolae Ciucă, and Chairman of NATO Military Committee, Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach.

Media representatives are invited to take part in the introductory session and the presentation session of the Activity Report on joint cooperation.

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Objectives of the Conference: developing regional military cooperation, strengthening security and ensuring a stable climate in the Balkan area, identifying and developing a regional crisis management mechanism, as well as increasing interoperability of armed forces in the region, in order to participate jointly in different exercises or missions.

Annual meetings of the Balkan Chiefs of Defense are the result of a regional initiative in 2007. Main purpose of this forum is to increase military cooperation at all levels and to improve relevant capacities of states in the region in order to be prepared to respond in a suitable manner to potential asymmetrical threats and to non-military crises.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei