A signing ceremony on the procurement of the Bell 412 helicopter was held on Tuesday at the Sarajevo Canton’s (KS) Ministry of the Interior (MoI), in the presence of representatives of the United States Embassy, representatives of the cantonal and Federation (FBiH) entity authorities and other dignitaries.

The contract was signed by the Minister of the Interior of Sarajevo Canton Admir Katica and the director of the company “Shot” from Zenica, which is the mediator in the procurement, Vedran Kljucanin.

The Interior Minister said, after the signing, that “this day will be remembered in history, as the day when the KS MoI concluded the procurement of the first helicopter for the citizens of Sarajevo Canton, but also for the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“Our vision, which we are getting closer to every day, is for the KS police to be equipped with a new helicopter, special armoured vehicles, water cannons, body cameras, adequate weapons and new uniforms,” Katica said.

He stated that they encountered numerous obstacles during the procurement process that they patiently overcame.

“We wanted to acquire this helicopter primarily for the sake of our residents, but also for the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Never again will citizens depend on the goodwill or political decisions of others when they need emergency medical transport, evacuation, or assistance in the event of floods, landslides, fires, earthquakes or any other unforeseen situation. Our helicopter unit will be the first to come to the aid of our citizens,” Katica said.

He added that the KS MoI has already formed the first helicopter unit, which consists of candidates who met the strict conditions and criteria of the public competition, and that the members of that unit have already been employed with the KS MoI.