NATO HQ 6 Dec. 2000

Speech by Mr. Jozef Pivarci, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic at the EAPC Meeting "Contributions by PfP Countries to the building of defence capabilities and to the solution to crisis situations" Mr. Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen, Permit me, at the outset, to appreciate the possibility of listening to the presentation by Mr. Bildt on the current situation in the Balkans. The Slovak Republic perceives with sensitivity all the positive changes leading to the restoration of democracy, security and stability in the region. They are the result of joint diplomatic, economic and military efforts on the part of the NATO Member States and Partner countries, which are involved in the process of resolving the situation in former Yugoslavia. In regard to the document known as the Political-Military Framework of NATO-led PfP Operations, I want to express my satisfaction with the fact that our expectations are gradually beginning to materialise, particularly in the planning and consultation stages. Regular information provided both to the Partners and by them at meetings of the individual political and military committees and groups of the Alliance, as well as consultations with Partners, represent a progress in deepening the cooperation between the Partner countries and the Alliance. We expect that the Report on the Implementation of Political-Military Framework, scheduled for the next spring, will identify areas for Partners inclusion in the CJTF command structure and will allow their involvement in the drafting of decisions by the command. The Slovak Republic wishes to continue to be an active participant in the process of safeguarding security and stability. This is the reason why Slovakia has gradually been improving the quality in the preparation and training of its declared forces in order that they become capable of meeting the requirements for their flexible involvement in NATO or EU-led operations, as well as capable to successfully cope with the whole range of tasks within the framework of multinational operations. In the framework of TEEP implementation we have already established two simulation centres in the Slovak Military Academies. I am pleased to note that the present performance by the small Slovak Army contingent operating within the KFOR has received a positive evaluation. Furthermore, we are prepared to secure the contingent's long-term availability. In order to impartially assess the readiness of our declared forces, the implementation of the Operations Capabilities Concept (OCC) will be of crucial importance. Within the OCC itself, I should like to highlight the significance of implementing the Assessment and Feedback Programme for OCC overall pool of forces and capabilities based on NATO standards that are being developed. Therefore, we want to take part in the COOPERATIVE KEY 2001 exercise, which will focus on the verification of interoperability attained by the declared forces. We are also interested in our specialists' attendance at the training course designed for arbiters of such forces. In conclusion, allow me to underline the importance of our cooperation with NATO Member States in the area of reform of the Slovak armed forces. In addition to that, we attribute equal significance to the implementation of Partnership Goals as an instrument leading to the achievement of the required levels of interoperability of the declared forces involved in multinational peace support operations. A NATO symposium on defence planning - which will focus precisely on the topic of Defence Reform in the PfP Countries and is scheduled to be held in January 2001 - will be the forum at which we should like to share the specific experience we have gathered during our reform. Thank you for your kind attention.