State Secretary Marian Majer visits SLOVCON service personnel serving with NATO eFP Battlegroup Latvia
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- Date: 20.12.2022
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During his official working trip to Latvia, State Secretary of the Slovak Ministry of Defence Marian Majer held a meeting on bilateral defence cooperation with State Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Defence Jānis Garisons in Riga before heading to visit service personnel of the Slovak Contingent, or SLOVCON, on deployment with the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Latvia at Camp Ādaži. The SVK delegation brought them Christmas gifts and traditional food ingredients for a special Christmas dinner.
On the SVK military personnel assigned to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) and enhanced Vigilance Activities (eVA), State Secretary Marian Majer said: “Slovakia is in a unique position – it has been contributing to a NATO Battlegroup abroad, whilst at the same time service personnel of the Slovak Armed Forces and Military Police have been undertaking operational tasks in the NATO Battlegroup back home.”
According to State Secretary Majer, the Slovak Armed Forces have gleaned valuable lessons and insights learned from the SVK deployment to Latvia and have used them for the NATO battlegroup's activities in Slovakia. “Our thanks go to our Latvian partners in the alliance through which they contribute to the overall stability of NATO and the EU on their eastern frontiers,” Mr Majer said.
Slovakia's artillery troops have been part of NATO's eFP in Latvia since 2018. Currently, 131 SVK service personnel along with vehicles and artillery capabilities – ZUZANA 2 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) are deployed on operations there.
While at the meeting with his counterpart in Riga, State Secretary Majer confirmed ZUZANA 2 SPHs will remain in Latvia for the coming period. The leaders also identified new opportunities for developing cooperation in the fields of military education, training, equipment repair, and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD).
Additionally, Mr Majer and Mr Garisons appreciated the progress that has been made to date on NATO's Strategic Communications (StratCom) activities and projects. Slovakia has been a member of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (NATO StratCom COE) Riga since 2019. Largely thanks to that, Slovakia can better engage with other Allied nations and combat disinformation and propaganda.
On the SVK military personnel assigned to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) and enhanced Vigilance Activities (eVA), State Secretary Marian Majer said: “Slovakia is in a unique position – it has been contributing to a NATO Battlegroup abroad, whilst at the same time service personnel of the Slovak Armed Forces and Military Police have been undertaking operational tasks in the NATO Battlegroup back home.”
According to State Secretary Majer, the Slovak Armed Forces have gleaned valuable lessons and insights learned from the SVK deployment to Latvia and have used them for the NATO battlegroup's activities in Slovakia. “Our thanks go to our Latvian partners in the alliance through which they contribute to the overall stability of NATO and the EU on their eastern frontiers,” Mr Majer said.
Slovakia's artillery troops have been part of NATO's eFP in Latvia since 2018. Currently, 131 SVK service personnel along with vehicles and artillery capabilities – ZUZANA 2 self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) are deployed on operations there.
While at the meeting with his counterpart in Riga, State Secretary Majer confirmed ZUZANA 2 SPHs will remain in Latvia for the coming period. The leaders also identified new opportunities for developing cooperation in the fields of military education, training, equipment repair, and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD).
Additionally, Mr Majer and Mr Garisons appreciated the progress that has been made to date on NATO's Strategic Communications (StratCom) activities and projects. Slovakia has been a member of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence (NATO StratCom COE) Riga since 2019. Largely thanks to that, Slovakia can better engage with other Allied nations and combat disinformation and propaganda.
