18-20 Mar. 2004

NATO Parliamentarians meet in Sarajevo News 17/03/2004 - NATO PA NATO Parliamentarians meet in Sarajevo Key links NATO Parliamentary Assembly The NATO Parliamentary Assembly held its 56th Rose-Roth seminar in Sarajevo, in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 18-20 March. The meeting took place at an important stage in the development of the country. The recent appointment of the first ever Minister of Defence of the country, Nikola Radovanovic, who addressed the seminar, marks a further step towards the achievement of the country’s stated goal of membership in NATO's Partnership for Peace. The parliamentarians heard presentations on the latest developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina from senior government officials and parliamentarians, as well as representatives of the international community. Participants were also briefed on the security situation within the country by the Commander of the NATO-led SFOR peacekeeping force, Commander Lt Gen Virgil Packett, and by the Head of the EU Police Mission, Bartolomew Kevin Carty, against the background of the anticipated transfer of command authority from SFOR to the European Union later this year. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is the inter-parliamentary organisation of legislators from the member countries of NATO as well as 20 partner countries. The Assembly provides a critical forum for international parliamentary dialogue on an array of security, political and economic matters. Its principal objective is to foster mutual understanding among alliance parliamentarians who represent a broad spectrum of political parties.