In visit to Vienna, Minister Naď presents medals to Austrian servicemen and servicewomen for supporting civil-military Op Shared Responsibility

At the medal awards ceremony at the Austrian Ministry of Defence in Vienna today (16 July 2021), Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko presented the SVK Minister of Defence Commemorative Medal (2nd and 3rd Grades) to 34 Austrian servicemen and servicewomen for supporting the first phase of Op Shared Responsibility, Slovakia's most extensive civil-military operation to conduct population-wide mass testing for coronavirus.

Speaking in appreciation of Austria's assistance to Slovakia, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “A friend in need is a friend indeed. This was proven even in the most difficult moment when, with no hesitation, Austria gave us a helping hand by assigning military personnel to assist in nation-wide testing for COVID-19 as part of the most extensive civil-military operation in our country. I once again wish to extend my Thank You to the Austrian Government and the Austrian servicemen and servicewomen for their commitment and selfless help.“ He also praised the Austrian military personnel for responding promptly when a 26-year-old man fainted and struck his head against the ground at the testing site located at the Petržalka racecourse in Bratislava.

As part of the official programme, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď and Federal Minister of Defence Klaudia Tanner met at the Austrian Ministry of Defence for talks on current bilateral, regional and multilateral defence and security issues. Both leaders commended the continued cooperation between the countries on joint training and international exercises.

Minister Naď provided an update to Minister Tanner on Slovakia's Action Plan for Coordination of the Fight Against Hybrid Threats, new strategic defence and security documents, and current state of contributions to international crisis management operations. Mr Naď pointed at the importance of efforts to intensify EU-NATO dialogue, especially the fight against hybrid threats and strategic communications (STRATCOM). The meeting also provided the space for a discussion of the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) activities.

The Austrian military personnel who supported Op Shared Responsibility were part of an Austrian military medical unit. The Austrian medical personnel came to Slovakia to strengthen the integrated teams engaged in country-wide mass testing for the presence of COVID-19 and operated a mobile testing site set up at the racecourse in Bratislava's Petržalka.