Ministries of Defense work together to benefit South East Europe

The South-East Europe Defense Ministerial (SEDM) Process brought together representatives of Ministries of Defense from across South East Europe to discuss joint projects and common challenges, on topics ranging from military hospitals, building integrity to gender equality in the military.

11 October 2017, Batumi, Georgia

The SEDM Process organizes regular meetings of Ministries of Defense from South East Europe to provide a forum for exchanging experiences and coordinating security actions. Cooperation and dialogue between Ministries of Defense ensures that neighboring states are well-informed of each other’s defense policies and shared challenges are commonly addressed, thereby maintaining peace and stability in the region.

The most recent SEDM Process meetings, held in Batumi, Georgia, covered topics that affect all SEDM members, from the importance of integrity in enhancing transparency and the interconnection of military hospitals to address the challenges of military and humanitarian medical activities, to the benefits of having more women as leaders in the defense sector.

Given SEESAC’s expertise in security matters, Bojana Balon – SEESAC’s Coordinator – spoke at the meeting in Batumi, providing an update about SEESAC’s recent activities and results in South East Europe. Citing the 9th Regional Approach to Stockpile Reduction (RASR) meeting as an example of cooperation, Bojana highlighted that regional cooperation must come first when addressing common security challenges including achieving gender equality in the military, small arms and light weapons and ammunition stockpiles. SEESAC supports initiatives such as SEDM that advocate for greater collaboration between governments. Regional cooperation and information exchange across borders paves the way for authorities to implement effective defense and security policies across South East Europe.

About SEDM

Since 1996, SEDM has brought together representatives of Ministries of Defense from South East Europe to discuss security matters that are of interest to the whole region and its citizens. SEDM provides the space for national counterparts to meet and inform each other about recent developments and their government’s policies. Adapting to current security needs, SEDM now also provides a space for countries in the pursuit of European Union membership to learn from each other’s experiences and exchange best practices.