Defence Minister J. Naď and UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations J. Lacroix appreciate SVK contribution to UNFICYP in Cyprus
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- Date: 20.11.2020
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In a video call yesterday evening, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď spoke with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix. Topics of discussion included the service of SVK armed forces with UNFICYP in Cyprus and with UNTSO in the Middle East, as well as the SVK military’s COVID-19 operations. Also discussed was the role of Service women as part of international missions and operations to build peace and security in the world.
On UN peacekeeping and SVK peacekeepers, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “The UN peace support operations are a unique instrument for building peace and security in the world. The Slovak Republic has been an active contributor to them and I am immensely pleased that Slovak soldiers in the service of Blue Helmets are an important part of international teams.” He noted that two SVK military personnel are currently on duty with the UN’s oldest peacekeeping mission – UNTSO on the Golan Heights.
The highest number of SVK military personnel deployed abroad (as many as 240, of which 23 are servicewomen) are currently serving with UNFICYP in Cyprus, where they are helping to maintain the ceasefire between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. “The Slovak contingent has been executing operational tasks in Sector 4 and it took over full responsibility for the sector in 2018, thereby not only confirming its professionalism, but also demonstrating its full readiness to participate in the tasks of delivering peace and security in the region,” he said.
On Service women in the SVK military, Minister Naď pointed to the rising numbers of female soldiers in the Slovak Armed Forces, equating to 12% of the strength. “I am pleased to see an increased interest of women in careers in the service on a year-to-year basis. I trust this will be the case in the future as well, because servicewomen are an important element of our armed forces,” he said.
The aim of the SVK military’s involvement in Cyprus is to maintain the ceasefire between the belligerent parties in the buffer zone. Altogether, 3,812 personnel (of them, 211 are servicewomen) have rotated in and out of UNFICPY to date.
The highest number of SVK military personnel deployed abroad (as many as 240, of which 23 are servicewomen) are currently serving with UNFICYP in Cyprus, where they are helping to maintain the ceasefire between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. “The Slovak contingent has been executing operational tasks in Sector 4 and it took over full responsibility for the sector in 2018, thereby not only confirming its professionalism, but also demonstrating its full readiness to participate in the tasks of delivering peace and security in the region,” he said.
On Service women in the SVK military, Minister Naď pointed to the rising numbers of female soldiers in the Slovak Armed Forces, equating to 12% of the strength. “I am pleased to see an increased interest of women in careers in the service on a year-to-year basis. I trust this will be the case in the future as well, because servicewomen are an important element of our armed forces,” he said.
The aim of the SVK military’s involvement in Cyprus is to maintain the ceasefire between the belligerent parties in the buffer zone. Altogether, 3,812 personnel (of them, 211 are servicewomen) have rotated in and out of UNFICPY to date.
