On 23 November 2017 the annual assessment conference to evaluate EUFOR's Capacity Building and Training Programme and identify the training needs of the Armed Forces of BiH (AFBiH) took place in the Army Hall in Sarajevo. The conference was not only designed to evaluate conducted training but also to provide a future outlook on the cooperation between EUFOR and the AFBiH including potential ways of improvement.
Colonels Avsar (EUFOR) and Raseta (AFBiH) chaired the conference.
Welcome addresses were given by Colonel Tuncer Avsar, EUFOR's Head of Capacity Building and Training, and Colonel Branko Raseta, Chief Training Division of the AFBiH Joint Staff. One aim of the conference is to start the analysis process which finally leads to a road map agreement between EUFOR and the AFBiH in 2018.
Although there is some way to go before achieving a self-sustainable training system for the Armed Forces, significant steps forward have been made over the past year. Lieutenant Colonel Erwin Gartler, EUFOR's Training Branch Chief, said: "The progress is evident. There are still some challenges, for example in relation to procurement and personnel. Therefore the training has to be flexible and objectives have to be adapted to given constraints. Solutions are in sight but will take time." In particular the combined trainings together with EUFOR's Multinational Battalion turned out to be exceptionally beneficial to prepare declared units with increased operational readiness and capability to work alongside Euro-Atlantic Forces.