Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak held a meeting on Thursday (Feb 2) with Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banožić in Zagreb. The main topics of this visit are the situation in the Western Balkans, support for Ukraine and bilateral cooperation.
“Thank you for our Polish-Croatian cooperation, for our joint efforts to strengthen the resilience of NATO countries and the European Union against the threats lurking in front of us all. Already at the end of this month, my colleague, the Minister (of Croatia – ed.) will be in Poland. We will talk to Polish, Croatian, American, British, and Romanian soldiers who are stationed in our country. I am obliged that Croatian forces continue their presence on Polish soil. This undoubtedly strengthens the interoperability between our armed forces and shows the solidarity of the North Atlantic Alliance countries,”
Mariusz Blaszczak, Minister of National Defense, said during his visit to Croatia.
The head of the Ministry of Defense noted the efforts of Poland and Croatia in modernizing the armed forces and the possible cooperation between the two countries in this regard.
“Both our countries are changing equipment, modernizing it. Hence the efforts and high expenditures on modernization of the military in both our countries. This is a field for cooperation both industrially, but also within the European Union, as this way we increase the possibilities for rapid modernization of our armed forces. Security, as we can all see, is key to the development of our countries, but also of the European community as a whole,”
he pointed out.
The bilateral talks included the issue of support for Ukraine, attacked by Russia in February 2022. In addition, the ministers discussed the situation in the Western Balkans, cooperation within the framework of NATO and the European Union, with particular emphasis on participation in the Enhanced Forward Presence – NATO (eFP) and the mission for Ukraine (Military Support Mission for Ukraine / EUMAM Ukraine). Mutual military cooperation between the two countries was also one of the topics of the meeting.
Poland and Croatia are strategic partners and allies. Today’s meeting reaffirmed our commitment to developing military, both bilateral and within NATO cooperation,” said Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banožić.