Alliance's new plans to boost Slovakia's security
Ministry of Defence of The Slovak Republic
16.06.2023
Defence Minister Martin Sklenár attended Day 2 of the NATO Defence Ministerial meetings on Friday (16 June 2023) in Brussels, where work to further bolster the Alliance's collective security and defence on the eastern flank was highlighted as the central theme as preparations are now underway for the upcoming NATO Vilnius Summit in Lithuania.
For Slovakia, the NATO meeting brought some important news about the introduction of a new rotational model for NATO's air and missile defence. "In practice, this means that whilst until now it has been up to individual states to agree the arrangements, we are now going to apply a new system whereby the assets available to NATO member states will rotate under NATOʼs coordination, depending on circumstances and availability," Defence Minister Sklenár explained.
On the sidelines of the Defence Ministerial, the head of the SVK MOD met his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto for bilateral talks. "The deployment of the SAMP/T air defence system to Slovakia makes a valuable asset to the security of our country and that of the Allianceʼs eastern flank," Minister Sklenár said. The leaders reviewed opportunities for defence industrial cooperation between the two countries.
As part of the programme at NATO HQ, Mr Sklenár also joined other Defence Ministers of the countries contributing to NATO's eFP Battlegroup in Latvia for a meeting. Slovakia has maintained a rotational presence in Latvia since 2018. "In early June, the fifth rotation of SVK forces along with equipment departed for Ādaži, where our artillerymen along with ZUZANA 2 howitzers are currently stationed. Sharing its much-needed capabilities and demonstrating its willingness and ability to deploy forces wherever needed - thatʼs where the Allianceʼs strength lies," Mr Sklenár added.
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