NATO appreciates Slovak Defence Ministry's progress in delivering its priorities and Alliance commitments
Ministry of Defence of The Slovak Republic
20.09.2023
At the Slovak Defence Ministry in Bratislava today, Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer met Karl Ford, Director Defence Planning at NATO, who is visiting Slovakia as he leads regular Reviews of the member nations' defence programmes and plans under the NATO Defence Planning Process (NDPP). During their meeting, both leaders gave positive assessments of the progress being made by Slovakia towards the development and delivery of specific NATO Capability Targets, i.e. the shift in building the Armed Forces.
Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer said: "The Review by the Alliance points to the fundamental progress we have achieved in recent years. By signing the contracts for the tracked armoured vehicles and 8x8 and 4x4 wheeled platforms, we have moved forward in building the Heavy Mechanised Brigade faster than foreseen by NATO two years ago."
The stand-up of the Heavy Mechanised Brigade is among the Ministry of Defence's main priorities, consistent with the Parliament-approved Long-Term Defence Development Plan.
Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer continued: "Our purchase of F-16 fighter jets was not assessed positively by the Alliance in the past, given that it was a financially demanding project. Today, however, we can see that the decision to replace our supersonic aircraft was right, since NATOʼs eastern flank needs advanced ground as well as air capabilities."
At the meeting, it was reaffirmed that for Slovakia to meet its obligations towards Allies, it must continue to invest at least 2% of GDP in defence and increase the size of the Slovak Armed Forces in accordance with the Ministry of Defence-approved plans.
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