The new commander of NATO forces in B&H, Eric Folkestad, in his first interview for B&H media talks about the Euro-Atlantic path of B&H, cooperation with the Armed Forces of our country, but also about the problem of the migrant crisis.

Security challenges

First of all, welcome to B&H! What will be your priority in acting from the position of Commander of the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo?

- It is a great honor to accept this exceptional responsibility. I want to help B&H build the capacity of the Armed Forces to be able to respond to a range of security challenges, from conflict resolution to natural disasters. But when you strengthen the military, you must also strengthen the system of democratic control and oversight of its activities. Another part of our Partnership for Peace activities is to make sure that the Armed Forces operate under democratic control and are transparent and accountable to the people they protect.

Do you believe that B&H's entry into NATO is possible and that this is the path that this country must continue to take?

- We want B&H to take its rightful place, as a member of the Euro-Atlantic community, and we will support B&H on that path in any way we can. But it is a choice that only the citizens and elected leaders of B&H can decide on. What I do know is that, one after the other, the leaders in B&H have signaled a desire for Euro-Atlantic integration, but each country is cooperating with NATO in different areas and under different conditions.

Recently, the media reported on the decision of the NATO alliance, which intends to strengthen its engagement in B&H. Can you, at least briefly, present to us the basic findings of that decision and tell us concretely in what we will see this stronger engagement?

- I assume you are thinking of just one of the proposals concerning the NATO Secretary General's initiative 2030, which aims to ensure that NATO remains a strong military alliance, becomes better politically and takes a more global approach to protect the citizens of its members and partner countries. The Secretary General will continue consultations with allies, parliamentarians, civil society, the private sector and young people before presenting his recommendations to NATO leaders at next year's meeting.

Security problem

In your opinion, what is the biggest security problem of B&H at the moment?

- It is clear to me that institutions at all levels of government in B&H have been and are under strong pressure to respond to the demanding security and humanitarian challenge posed by the migrant crisis. Strong cooperation and coordination between various institutions and countries is key to responding to this challenge. That is why what NATO is doing in B&H is so important. We are helping the B&H Armed Forces build capabilities to work with allies to respond to international security challenges, from the migrant crisis, through returnees from foreign battlefields, to COVID. Likewise, it is clear that other security challenges have not disappeared due to COVID-19. On the contrary, we see state and non-state actors trying to use the health crisis to their advantage, even through misinformation, with the aim of provoking divisions and undermining our democracies and opportunities for action. We oppose the facts, our values and concrete activities with false narratives, which shows the readiness and solidarity of NATO. We are also working with the European Union, the United Nations, the G7 and civil society to counter this misinformation.

How does NATO intend to assist B&H in further developing and strengthening the BiH Armed Forces in line with Alliance standards?

- The fact that B&H has created a professional, cohesive armed forces that are a model of integration and cooperation is a remarkable success. First, the B&H Armed Forces have been working side by side with the armed forces of the Alliance and Partner countries in Afghanistan since 2009. They are once again proving their professionalism and continue to play an important role in the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, training, advising and assisting Afghan security forces and institutions. Upon their return, they are better leaders and better soldiers and, with the new skills they have acquired and perfected in these security missions, they make AFB&H units more capable and efficient.

The year 2020 is a turning point

- For the AFB&H, 2020 is a turning point. In September this year, a battalion group of light infantry held an exercise on Manjača. The exercise represents the final step in a process that shows the unit has reached a level of interoperability and operational capability to participate in NATO-led crisis response operations. Bringing a battalion group to exercise is not an easy task, even in normal circumstances, let alone with the additional hygienic-epidemiological measures that were needed due to the COVID pandemic.