Gajdos Meets Commander of NATO Multinational Corps NE Hofmann
Bratislava, July 18 (TASR) – Defence Minister Peter Gajdos (Slovak National Party/SNS) on Wednesday met Commander of NATO Multinational Corps North-East (MNC NE) Manfred Hofmann, who is leaving his post, ministry spokesperson Danka Capakova told TASR on the same day.
During their meeting the two officials highlighted that a fully operational NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) in Slovakia has been achieved along with tasks that are being fulfilled by the NFIU Liaison Team in connection with strengthening security and collective protection within NATO-member states. They also discussed NATO’s new command structure, including Slovakia’s participation.
“The NFIU unit in Slovakia became fully operational last year, and today it carries out tasks related to providing and coordinating allied forces in the region in a responsible manner,” stated Gajdos. He informed General Hofmann about modernisation projects that are being carried out by the Defence Ministry in line with the Long-term Plan for Defence Development with an emphasis on building and developing the Slovak Armed Forces with an outlook until 2030.
Gajdos and Hofmann during their talks concurred that modernisation must go “hand in hand” with high-quality preparation of staff, said Capakova.
The Slovak NFIU unit in Bratislava-Vajnory was officially activated on September 1, 2016 and has been under the command of MNC NE Command in Szczecin, Poland since then. It became fully operational on June 1, 2017.
