On October 29, 2024, Ms. Lisa Sawyer, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, co-chaired the U.S.-Croatia Bilateral Defense Consultations (BDC) with Ms. Nikolina Volf, Deputy Director of Policy, Croatian Ministry of Defense. The meeting took place in the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and included participation from the Ministry of Defense and General Staff of Croatia, the U.S. Joint Staff, U.S. European Command, the Minnesota National Guard, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and the Department of State.
Participants discussed global security, support to Ukraine, and bilateral security cooperation priorities, including exercises, training, military-to-military engagements, defense modernization initiatives, and Croatia's longstanding State Partnership Program with the Minnesota National Guard. Croatian defense officials provided their perspective on the security situation in the Western Balkans, their role within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance including the fielding of a Heavy Brigade to meet a NATO capability, infrastructure development at its training ranges and ports, logistics cooperation, and combating malign influence in the Western Balkans. The United States thanked Croatia for a productive BDC and reaffirmed the importance of the EU-facilitated Dialogue as the best way to achieve a stable and secure Western Balkans.
