Slovakia, Bratislava – While in Slovakia (15 April 2016), the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Petr Pavel met with the Slovak Minister of Defense, Mr. Petr Gajdoš and Chief of Defense of the Slovak Armed Forces, General Milan Maxim.
The meeting with the Minister of Defense of Slovakia, Mr. Petr Gajdoš was an opportunity to discuss a number of topics, including Slovak defense priorities, the implementation of the Readiness Action Plan, and long-term military adaptation. The Chairman praised Slovakia for its decision to host one of the eight NATO Force Integration Units on its territory and for its commitment to increase the national defense budget: “I welcome Slovakia’s pledge to increase its defense spending to 1.6% by 2020. It is vital that we invest in our security to ensure modern and effective capabilities as well as ready, mobile and responsive forces”.
The Chairman also commended Slovakia for its contributions to NATO’s operations and missions, specifically highlighting the role Slovakia plays in Afghanistan, stating “Slovak soldiers are training Afghan Security Forces in our Resolute Support Mission and you provide valuable financial support to the Afghanistan National Army Trust Fund”.
During his bilateral meeting with Lt General Maxim, General Pavel acknowledged Slovakia’s priorities and commitments to modernization and capability development, as demonstrated by recent and planned acquisitions as well as the continued development of Special Operation Forces capabilities: “It is important to adapt to new challenges. NATO is adapting. Slovakia is adapting. This shows our resolve to stand by each other.”
