Prague, April 5 (CTK) – Czech Defence Minister Karla Slechtova (ANO) visited the Czech soldiers in Iraq, meeting the military police, the air force training team and chemical warfare instructors, the military said on its webpage on Thursday.
She was accompanied by deputy chief of staff Ales Opata on her two-day trip she finished this evening.
Slechtova visited three Czech military units operating in Iraq.
Some 60 Czech soldiers train the air force personnel to maintain the Czech L-159 fighters, they train the local police and also train the Iraqi specialists in the protection against the arms of mass destruction.
Slechtova also had a meeting with Iraqi military commanders and representatives of the anti-terrorist operation Inherent Resolve.
“It clearly arose from the talks with our partners that security is the basic interest and need. This is the basic precondition of the renewal of the country,” Slechtova said.
Hence the importance of the Czech aid to the training of Iraqi soldiers and police, she added.
Next week, the Czech government will approve an increase in the Czech participation in foreign military missions and their plan for another two years.
Slechtova has proposed that up to 110 troops should serve in Iraq in the next two years.
The changes in the missions are to be approved by the government and then by the parliament.
