Remarks
by H.E.
Jozo Rados
Minister of Defence of the Republic of Croatia
at the Meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in Defence Ministers
Session
Mr. Secretary General,
It is my great honour to be here today and address this distinguished
forum.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As all of you know Croatia has become the newest member of the EAPC family,
upon having just recently signed the PfP Framework Document. However,
that does not necessarily mean that we have been standing idly by over
the past few years. In fact, Euro-Atlantic integration has been a national
strategic objective, which has enjoyed broad public support in Croatia.
Today, South-East Europe is perhaps NATO's greatest geo-political challenge.
With Croatia joining the PfP, it is our belief that the Euro-Atlantic
community has gained a reliable partner in the region - ready to assume
its share of responsibilities and capable of upholding the objectives,
as well as the principles of the Partnership.
I would like to take this opportunity and once again emphasise our readiness
to promote democratic values and friendly relations with all our neighbours
through regional co-operation in South-Eastern Europe. In particular,
our efforts will be directed towards fostering the peace process in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, thus, hopefully, encouraging democratic reforms in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Croatia will continue to fulfil its OSCE and UN commitments and continue
to play a significant role in the Stability Pact for South-East Europe
In this sense, the PfP provides Croatia with an additional framework for
contributing to peace and security in the region. Multinational efforts
and joint actions represent the best possible approach for tackling the
threats to security in the twenty-first century. In that sense, let us
assure you, we will do our part.
Croatia has already established a robust international military co-operation
program of activities and is focused on both bilateral and multilateral
co-operation. Accordingly, we view education and training opportunities
as the most significant part of these efforts. We are determined to build
on this foundation and will look to fully explore the potentials of the
EAPC and the PfP.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am also pleased to inform you that a major defence reform process and
reorganisation effort in the armed forces are well underway in Croatia.
In this respect, the principles of democratic control of the armed forces
and defence transparency represent a guiding beacon in our efforts. Membership
in PfP will play a critical role as we look to further develop defence
structures and forces that are inter-operable with those of NATO countries
and meet NATO standards. Finally, allow me to look down the road and assure
you that our commitment to the Partnership will strongly reflect the values
and objectives of the Euro-Atlantic community.
Thank you for your attention.
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