Slovakia and Croatia Sign Defence Cooperation Agreement

Zagreb, 9 June, (TASR) - Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) and his Croatian counterpart Ivan Anusic signed a defence cooperation agreement with the aim to "expand bilateral cooperation into new areas based on mutual interests, needs and a long-term partnership" in Zagreb on Monday (8 June). Under the agreement, Slovakia will offer ammunition and armoured vehicles to Croatia, while also purchasing combat helmets from the country. "Slovakia is already making use of Croatian expertise and capacities, mainly in obtaining specialised fabrics for new uniforms of the Slovak Armed Forces, while it also intends to expand this cooperation to cover the area of ballistic protection for soldiers, including the procurement of new helmets," the Slovak Defence Ministry wrote in a social media post. According to the ministry, Croatia is interested in "joining framework contracts under the European SAFE instrument to purchase ammunition and other products of our defence industry". jrg