BELGIAN ARMED FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF VISITS CROATIAN ARMED FORCES

ZAGREB, April 29 (Hina) - Belgian Armed Forces Chief of Staff General August Van Dael visited Croatian Armed Forces General Headquarters on Thursday where he met Chief of Staff General Josip Lucic for talks on military cooperation and an exchange of experience regarding the reorganisation of military forces.#L# Lucic told reporters after the meeting that Van Dael's visit confirmed the development of friendly relations between the two countries' armed forces. He said that Croatia had "an important mission in Belgium" whose staff would increase in number as Croatia drew closer to full membership of NATO. Lucic said that they also discussed cooperation in training and that he would inform the Belgian side of the process of military reform in Croatia and ask them for their advice and assessment. Van Dael said that the armed forces of the two countries shared many interests, that the Belgian armed forces had undergone reorganisation and that their experience could be compared to that of the Croatian forces. The Belgian guest said that he and Lucic also discussed security in the region, adding that this was very important for Belgium because its troops were participating in the UN peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. If and when the European Union takes over the SFOR mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina from NATO, Belgium will also have a role in that process, Van Dael said. (Hina) vm