SLOVAKIA FY 2005 COALITION SOLIDARITY FUND

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000566 SIPDIS FOR PM/PPA SCOTT KWAK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MASS PREL PARM LO SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA FY 2005 COALITION SOLIDARITY FUND ALLOCATION REF:STATE 120737 ¶1. On July 15, 2005, Post received a response to Reftel inquiry regarding Slovakia's plans for allocating the 2005 Coalition Solidarity Fund disbursement. In a letter from Jozef Zufka of the Military Planning and Resource Management Section of the Ministry of Defense, Slovakia states its wish to purchase the following: 1) Equipment for Explosive Ordinance Disposal / Center of Excellence project to upgrade facilities in NOVAKY according to NATO standards: - EOD simulative technology and equipment for special training and teaching PRICE: USD 3 million 2) Biological Aerosol Warning System (BAWS) 1 set. PRICE: USD 3 million TOTAL VALUE OF EQUIPMENT REQUESTED: USD 6 million n ¶2. Slovakia has contingents in both Iraq and Afghanistan that are conducting demining operations, and the Ministry has expressed its desire to further develop EOD as a "niche capability" within NATO. The Ministry of Defense believes that the equipment outlined in item 1 above will help it expedite this development. The Slovak Armed forces is developing Nuclear, Chemical and Biological (NBC) Defense as another niche capability. Item 2 will increase the overall capabilities of Slovakia's forces and allow it to meet NBC detection requirements, providing critical protection to troops fighting the Global War on Terrorism. THAYER NNNN