Peace, stability and investing in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a priority to everyone, Bosnia's Defence Minister Marina Pendes said in a meeting with the Maryland National Guard commander Linda Singh on Wednesday.

Pendes and Singh discussed the cooperation within the State Partnership Programme (SPP), a joint programme of the US Department of Defence and individual states, assessing that further cooperation would prepare the members of Bosnian Armed Forces for current and future missions.

Minister Pendes emphasised the importance of the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to start the modernisation of the Armed Forces.

“Peace, stability and investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a priority to everyone. I suggest continuing the cooperation towards the civil-civil cooperation, which would additionally strengthen the partnership between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the State of Maryland,” said the minister adding that the cooperation in upcoming period could focus at the academic level.

General Singh voiced the full support to the plan of activities for 2019 within the partnership with Bosnia's army, which includes the exercises, exchange of experience and joint training activities.

She agreed that the focus should be put on the civil-civil partnership.

The State of Maryland has been a partner to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the past 15 years, and the US-Bosnia cooperation through the Military to Military Programme is aimed at the increase of interoperability of the two countries’ armed forces.

The programme was designed to provide assassinate and support to democratic institutions and state bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to Bosnia's Defence Ministry, the partnership of the two countries did not deteriorate despite numerous challenges on the world stage.