Croatian and Philippines Defence Ministers' talks on
cooperation in defence industry
RTOP-12 Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir missile boat
Defence Minister Ante Kotromanović and Deputy Minister of
Foreign and European Affairs Joško Klisović with delegations paid an official
visit to the Philippines
from 30 September to 3 October 2012. There they held bilateral meetings of
defence ministers and political consultation of foreign ministries of the two
countries.
During a visit to the Ministry of National Defence of the
Republic of the Philippines,
Minister Kotromanović met Minister Gazmin Voltaire. During the meeting, both
sides pointed out the very good bilateral relations between Croatia and the Philippines as well as
opportunities for future development.
In line with the common interest of the two countries for
the preservation of global and regional stability through participation in
international peacekeeping missions, it was agreed that there was a scope for
strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of
military-technical cooperation, as well as in cooperation between the two
navies. In this context, Minister Kotromanović emphasized the long tradition of
Croatia
as a naval and shipbuilding country, mentioning the recent decision of the
Government on the construction of coastal patrol ships for the Croatian Navy.
The discussions were also about the fight against piracy and
the contribution of the two countries, where the Croatian participation in
ATALANTA operation led by the EU was characterized as an important contribution
to the fight against this global problem. Philippines Defence Minister spoke
about the anti-piracy activities on its sea borders, where both ministers drew
a conclusion that in this area there was the potential for the exchange of
experience between the two navies.
RTOP-21 Šibenik missile boat
Given the identified potential development of bilateral
cooperation between Croatia and Philippines in the field of military-technical,
defence and security cooperation, and cooperation between navies, education and
training and exchange of experience, the interest in finding new possibilities
of product placement of the Croatian military industry on the Philippines
market was emphasized on the meeting. Particularly, if considering the fact
that the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
the air force and the navy, have been currently in the process of modernization
and further equipping. It was also pointed out that, as part of the strategy of
the Philippines
to increase economic growth and decrease poverty, they increased budgetary
resources of the Philippine Ministry of Defence.
The Philippines
also intend to open additional opportunities in the shipbuilding portfolio
within which an important role has the construction of ships for the Philippine
Navy.
