V4 Senior Body 2023
State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic Marian Majer participated in a meeting with partners from the defence ministries of the Visegrad Group countries in the "Senior Body" format at the Sliač Air Base and the Lešt' Training Centre on 10-11 May 2023.
During the event, the State Secretaries had the opportunity to receive briefings and witness displays of activities at Sliač Air Base, the reconstruction of the Air Base in anticipation of the delivery of F-16 fighter jets and a briefing on the deployment of German and Dutch contingent at Sliač Air Base operating the Patriot Air and Missile Defence System. Further, the State Secretaries received a briefing at the Military Training Area Lešť, which was focused on the Multinational Battle Group in the Slovak Republic. They had the opportunity to see elements of the Multinational Battle Group training urban warfare scenarios and to speak with representatives of individual contingents during a static display.
The State Secretaries also discussed the issues of modernisation projects within their countries, the current situation in Ukraine and visions related to the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, especially in the context of increasing defence spending and strengthening command structures in the Eastern part of NATO. Importantly, they confirmed readiness of all Visegrad Countries to participate in the planned Air Policing Mission in the airspace of the Slovak Republic.
"We are grateful to our allies from the Czech Republic and Poland for the protection of our airspace. Hungary will soon join this initiative after the signing of the relevant documents. Practical Visegrad cooperation is thus gaining new dynamics thanks to this project and at the same time shows the importance of cooperation and cohesion between our countries," said State Secretary Majer.
During the event, the State Secretaries had the opportunity to receive briefings and witness displays of activities at Sliač Air Base, the reconstruction of the Air Base in anticipation of the delivery of F-16 fighter jets and a briefing on the deployment of German and Dutch contingent at Sliač Air Base operating the Patriot Air and Missile Defence System. Further, the State Secretaries received a briefing at the Military Training Area Lešť, which was focused on the Multinational Battle Group in the Slovak Republic. They had the opportunity to see elements of the Multinational Battle Group training urban warfare scenarios and to speak with representatives of individual contingents during a static display.
The State Secretaries also discussed the issues of modernisation projects within their countries, the current situation in Ukraine and visions related to the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, especially in the context of increasing defence spending and strengthening command structures in the Eastern part of NATO. Importantly, they confirmed readiness of all Visegrad Countries to participate in the planned Air Policing Mission in the airspace of the Slovak Republic.
"We are grateful to our allies from the Czech Republic and Poland for the protection of our airspace. Hungary will soon join this initiative after the signing of the relevant documents. Practical Visegrad cooperation is thus gaining new dynamics thanks to this project and at the same time shows the importance of cooperation and cohesion between our countries," said State Secretary Majer.
