On Friday, Croatia chaired the 12th Review Conference on the implementation of the Sub-Regional Arms Control Agreement (Article IV, Annex 1-B, Dayton Peace Accords).
Apart from Croatia, participating in the conference were other parties to the Agreement: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia.
In his keynote address, State Secretary for Political Affairs Frano Matušić underlined that Croatia would continue to support the implementation of the Agreement and remain open to all constructive ideas aimed at strengthening the security architecture in Southeast Europe and beyond, which is one of the strategic priorities of Croatia’s foreign policy.
The Sub-Regional Arms Control Agreement is one of the most effective agreements in said area and greatly contributed to stability and predictability in Southeast Europe. The experiences and lessons learned during its nearly 25-year-long implementation could be of great use to the wider debate on the future of conventional arms control in Europe and serve as an example to post-conflict countries and regions.
Responsible for the implementation of Article IV are representatives of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and on the expert level representatives of the Ministry of Defence, through inspection visits by other parties and regular meetings of the Implementation Commission.