Sarajevo, 12 March 2012

Visit of the Iraqi Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with the IOM Mission in Iraq and the Ministry of Defence of Iraq organized a five-day study visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the representatives of the Parliament of Iraq and representatives of the Ministry of Defence of Iraq.

The Iraqi delegation and representatives of IOM will meet with the Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the representatives of various sectors within the Ministry. During this visit, joint presentations of the Ministry of Defence and IOM will be held in relation to the defence reform process in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the process of discharging redundant personnel from the Armed Forces, in addition to a presentation on resettling and reintegration of the aforementioned staff through the NATO-PERSPEKTIVA Programme implemented by IOM. 

In the Parliamentary Assembly, the Iraqi delegation will be hosted by representatives of the Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Security.

Given the requirements of defence reform in Iraq as well as the interest of local authorities in initiation of activities which would, in certain aspects, be similar to those which were used in the process of implementation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, IOM believes that the experience and lessons learned of the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be of great support to the efforts of the Ministry of Defence of Iraq. At the same time, such exchange of experiences represents an opportunity to present the excellent results which were achieved in this field in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the planned visit, the Iraqi delegation will meet with the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Bakir Izetbegovic, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey H.E. Ahmet Yildiz, Commander of NATO HQ in Sarajevo, Brig. General Gary E. Huffman, and representatives of NATO countries, donors of the NATO-PERSPEKTIVA Programme, and beneficiaries of the Programme in Sarajevo and Mostar.

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Contact Person:

Edita Selimbegović, PR - International Organization for Migration – Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tel: +387 (0)33 567 219 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting Fax: +387 (0)33 567 229 Mob: +387 (0)61 215 839 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting