More than 1,200 participants from 44 NATO and Partnership for Peace member countries, including 20 Croatian teams with 177 members in all, were taking part in the exercise, which will be conducted on five locations in the Zadar area until May 24.
Under the scenario of the exercise for today, participants were responding to an earthquake in the Zadar area and a chemical incident in the industrial port of Gazenica.
Exercise director-general Damir Trut said that in this exercise Croatia would demonstrate the capabilities of its own teams and assure the international community that it was capable of taking part in rescue operations on an equal footing.
"This is a test of the capabilities of our personnel and equipment," Trut said at a press conference. He said that the exercise was not a basis for an invitation to Croatia to join NATO, but a contribution to that end.
Croatia earmarked HRK 1.5 million from the budget for the exercise while the rest was covered by NATO. Preparations for it lasted a year instead of two to three years as initially planned, for which Croatia received congratulations.