The handover ceremony of the donation of the USA Government was held in the barracks of the Armed Forces (AF) of B&H in Rajlovac, and it is about 21 highly mobile multi-purpose Humvee vehicles type M1152 and M1165.

The value of the donation is more than 26 million US dollars. As the Minister of Defense of B&H, Sifet Podžić, said, the donated vehicles confirm that the USA most comprehensively and concretely supports the AFB&H and the Ministry of Defense of B&H.

- Out of 21 donated vehicles, nine are ambulance vehicles, while 12 are for the transport of corpses. In addition to the previously donated 58 Humvee vehicles, the Armed Forces of B&H now have 79 Humvee at their disposal, which greatly increases the mobility of our forces - said Podžić.

He announced that seven more Humvees will be donated in the next period, which will bring the value of this donation to more than 14.3 million US dollars.

- The benefits of donated vehicles will not only have the Armed Forces, but all citizens of B&H, because we will use them in crisis situations, natural disasters - said Podžić.

US Ambassador to B&H Eric Nelson said that he was glad to be able to present this gift of American people to B&H.

- We call these vehicles multi-purpose, they can move on various terrains, they can be used in peace as support to the Armed Forces. That capacity to respond to crisis situations in peacetime is something that the United States is investing in to increase those capacities. That is why the recently held exercise "Immediate Response", which we organized with the help of the National Guard of the State of Maryland, was important, we included all agencies and civil protection, all in order to respond to crisis situations as well as possible - said Nelson.

He added that the United States is aware that their investment has helped the AFB&H raise its standards and is now seen as a trusted partner in projects implemented by international forces.

- We call for the implementation of reforms to continue in order for B&H to meet the standards necessary for the Euro-Atlantic path, but not only in the field of defense and AFB&H, but also when it comes to the rule of law and economy. These capital investments that the USA is making in B&H, should become capital investments of taxpayers in B&H, that is why I call on the Council of Ministers to support the requests that are necessary, ie the budget of the AFB&H - said Nelson.

During his address, Senad Mašović, Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of B&H, announced a new donation from the US Government. These are four multifunctional helicopters.

- This is new equipment that has not been used before. As for the helicopters, there are four UHA2s. These are multi-purpose helicopters that can be used as transport. For the first time, our army will be able to use helicopters in all weather conditions, regardless of whether it is day or night - said Mašović.