Defence ministers from the region will gather today, on the 5th of October, in Skopje on the occasion of the ceremony the establishment of the Permanent Organisation of the Balkan military medical forces.
Balkan military medical forces, which include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia, will now participate together and help each other in emergencies such as floods and the like. Centre for this operation opens today in Skopje while Serbia in the next two years will be presiding country.
Balkan medical forces are designed modular multinational forces intended for a wide range of operations to respond rapidly to crisis situations, especially when it comes to natural and other disasters in the Western Balkans. In the long run, these facilities can be used for international operations.
After the formation of the Balkan medical forces, they should be trained to react immediately in providing medical support level 2 (light field hospital) until the moment of consolidation of the existing civilian medical structures.
Members of the Balkan military medical forces mark in May the end of the exercise “Spring 2016” and presented their knowledge of rapid response in crisis situations at the Belgrade Military Medical Academy. This involved everything from revivication to rapid operational procedures in a block hall.
This project, funded by the Kingdom of Norway and the United States, began in 2010. This is a unique example of cooperation in the region where every country has a different attitude towards the EU and NATO.