The first foreign travel of Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna led to Bratislava, where he met his Slovak counterpart, Minister Robert Kaliňák. For the Czech Republic, Slovakia represents its historically closest partner, and the excellent relations also reflect in the intensive cooperation of both nations’ armed forces.
In Bratislava, a full military honours welcome ceremony awaited Minister Jaromír Zůna. “It was clear from the beginning that my first steps would lead to Slovakia. It is both a tradition and indeed a symbol of the high-quality relations and cooperation between our countries,” Minister Zůna accentuated.
Almost all military occupational specialties of the Czech Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Slovak Republic train together on regular basis – from land through air to special forces. Experience is shared among military logisticians, medics, personnel managers as well as cyber specialists. There are four major Livex training exercises scheduled just for this year. Soldiers and airmen from both countries deploy together for many operations too. They serve shoulder to shoulder in NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia, Operation EUFOR ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in KFOR, Kosovo. From 2022, the Czech Armed Forces have been involved in the Multinational Battlegroup Slovakia, for which a reinforced company with the strength of roughly 170 service personnel have deployed while additional 300 plus service personnel are on standby in the Czech Republic. In 2022, Slovakia prematurely decommissioned the MiG-29 fighters, and the Czech Air Force pilots have since then helped protect the airspace of the Czech Republic’s eastern Ally.
“The Czech Republic will continue to participate in the Multinational Battlegroup Slovakia in the years ahead”, Minister Zůna announced after meeting Minister Kaliňák.
According to Czech Minister Zůna, cooperation between Czechia and Slovakia also takes place on the level of joint Czech-Slovak working groups that cover a broad variety of topics from defence planning, logistic support, crisis management through to academic training and military medical service.
Outstanding relations between the two countries also reflect in defence industrial cooperation. Accordingly, Minister Zůna sees opportunities in joint development and experience sharing in the domain of air defence, which is a key subject for both nations.
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