Allied Solidarity: 78 Croatian Soldiers Head to Poland

Croatia and Poland will soon sign an agreement to enhance defense cooperation, and in two weeks, a larger group of Croatian soldiers will depart for Poland as part of a NATO mission, stated Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Damir Krstičević on Monday after a meeting with Polish Minister of Defense Antoni Macierewicz.

– We have agreed on an agreement to enhance defense cooperation, and today we will make all the necessary preparations for this agreement to be signed very soon. We want to cooperate with Poland in the area of special forces, military police, and there is also very important military-technical cooperation, military-scientific cooperation, said Krstičević in a statement to reporters after the meeting.

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He emphasized that this cooperation is very important due to the security challenges Europe is facing, which are very complex and require EU and NATO member states to cooperate even more intensively, exchange experiences, and share information to better confront all security threats and risks.

Krstičević announced that 78 Croatian soldiers will depart for Poland in about fifteen days as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) activity, where they will be part of a combat group led by the United States.

– The soldiers are ready; they will leave in about fifteen days. He added that Poland requested this from Croatia as a friend and partner.

– I believe that if, God forbid, Croatia needed it tomorrow, Poland would act the same way and would send its soldiers here to Croatia on any occasion. So I am glad that we are participating, that our soldiers are going there, said Krstičević.

Minister Macierewicz thanked Croatia for its demonstrated allied solidarity, noting that the Croatian Armed Forces are highly regarded in Poland as a model of military expertise and love for the homeland. The ministers confirmed the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, based on a strong partnership and a high level of mutual understanding.

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They exchanged views on the current security-political situation in Europe and the world and confirmed their commitment to NATO’s open-door policy, as well as their readiness to continue supporting aspiring member states.

The two ministers participated together yesterday in Marija Bistrica at the 25th pilgrimage of the Croatian Army, police, and Croatian defenders. After the meeting with Krstičević, the Polish Minister of Defense also met with the Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković.