U.S. to invest over USD 17 million in support of AFBiH

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U.S. to invest over USD 17 million in support of AFBiH

Ambassador Michael Murphy sent a message yesterday on the occasion of the Day of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina AFBiH, he said. Since its formation, the AFBiH have served with dignity and at the highest level in the country and abroad. Their contribution to the UN peacekeeping missions across Africa has bolstered their reputation as a professional military capable of operating in complex situations.

They are a patriotic, multi-ethnic team of volunteers who excel in every task they are assigned, despite the fact that some are trying to undermine that institution. The AFBiH has a strong relationship with the U.S. Murphy stressed that the AFBiH and the U.S. Army have fought and bled together on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan for more than ten years.

He stated that the AFBiH are a close partner of the NATO alliance and contribute to the NATO mission through the Partnership for Peace program.

With that in mind, I congratulate the members of the Light Infantry Battalion Group for the excellence they demonstrated during the NATO assessment, making them a qualified unit within NATO's Partnership for Peace Force. The ambassador pointed out that the U.S. has been proud to have contributed to the development of the Light Infantry Battalion Group by providing support through training and equipment worth eleven and a half million dollars, which all increased the level of combat readiness of the unit.

The U.S. partnership with the AFBiH is as solid as a rock, as it has been developed through close cooperation for years.

Since 2003, the AFBiH has maintained a strong military-to- military relationship with the Maryland National Guard through the State Partnership Program. American cooperation with the AFBiH also takes place through the security programs of the U.S. said Murphy.

He reminded that the grants included the purchase of four Huey II helicopters, 86 Humvee vehicles, and the equipping of the Battalion Group, which together amount to over sixty million dollars.

He said the U.S. invests in the professional military education of members of the AFBiH, sending about twenty-five members of the AFBiH to various military institutions across the U.S. each year. The U.S. has been its number one partner since the founding of the AFBiH.

There is no other country that cares more about BiH and supporting the AFBiH than the U.S., which we are proud of. The U.S. will do more. I am happy to announce today that the U.S. will be giving seventeen million dollars in support to the AFBiH this year. Five million dollars are for cyber security infrastructure and training for the Ministry of Defense and the AFBiH, as well as five million dollars for training and training for the Ministry of Defense and the AFBiH.

This will help build the capacity and resilience of the Ministry of Defense and the AFBiH in defense against malicious attacks on their IT networks. The U.S. will continue to invest in the development of the aircraft capabilities of the AFBiH.

We are allocating twelve million dollars for the purchase of advanced helicopter simulators this year. We are also investing twenty-three million dollars in new Huey II helicopters in order to modernize the helicopter fleet of the AFBiH. The investments are proof of the continued commitment of the U.S. to the AFBiH. During decades of combat deployment, training and cooperation, the U.S. is BiH's strongest and most persistent partner in the field of security, said Murphy.

He said that the people of this country can count on the U.S. to remain committed to the partnership with BiH, whether it is political instability in BiH or the threat posed by malicious actors outside BiH.