The Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in BiH took over from the Embassy of Hungary in BiH the duty of contact embassy for cooperation with NATO at a ceremony in Sarajevo.
Brigadier General Pamela McGaha, commander of the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo, said Norway is taking over the role of contact embassy at an important moment.
There is a new security reality in Europe, and the number of challenges we face is growing. NATO is more important than ever before, because of this. She said before the ceremony, she was looking forward to cooperation with Norway, which has supported Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO for a number of years, and the continuation of important security projects aimed at preserving the safety of citizens.
Some significant achievements took place in the last four years that Hungary was the contact embassy.
She stressed the formation of the Commission for Cooperation with NATO, the Reform Program, the Light Infantry Battalion Group, as well as the support of allies during the COVID 19 epidemic.
The charg d affaires of the Hungarian Embassy in BiH Csaba Felegyhazi emphasizes that their priority is the preservation of peace and stability in the Western Balkans, a key interest in geopolitical and economic terms.
He emphasized that Hungary wants to contribute to the peace and security of the Western Balkans, and I strongly support the accretion of the EU integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the strengthening of cooperation between NATO and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As a contact embassy in Hungary, he said, the missions of the contact were to inform the public about NATO and to provide assistance in cooperation between NATO and BiH.
We always talked about our experiences, but we never told Bosnia and Herzegovina what was good for them. BiH has the power to make that decision. We tried and I hope to take into account the sensitivity or different attitudes related to NATO, on the other hand. Felegyhazi said that their goal is to be and remain active, without intensifying certain tensions related to that issue.
He believes that the public could get more concrete and objective information about the Alliance.
He said that NATO is not only a military, but also an economic and political organization that can help a lot in the civilian aspect, such as civilian rescue cooperation.
We had excellent cooperation with international partners and allies during the four-year mandate, as well as with Bosnia and Herzegovina. He stressed that institutions, which were of great help in our activities, were of great help.
Norwegian ambassador Olav Reinertsen emphasized that it is important to raise visibility and inform both the public and politicians about what NATO is and to promote the values that are valid in NATO.
Together with our allies and partner countries in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we will fight against foreign influences, disinformation, cyber threats, and many other issues. Reinertsen told reporters that they had already started talking about NATO in Banja Luka.