Josip Brkić received Brigadier General James Fowler in Sarajevo on 1 July 2026 for Fowler’s inaugural visit as Commander of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo. The meeting centered on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s cooperation with NATO, with the next step due in Brussels at a session of the NATO Deputy Permanent Representatives Committee.
Brkić briefed Fowler on the work of the NATO Cooperation Commission and the preparation of the Reform Program of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2026. He also said that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s cooperation with NATO makes an important contribution to the development of defense capacities and the implementation of reform processes that contribute to the overall security and stability of the country.
NATO Cooperation Commission in Sarajevo
The two men welcomed the adoption and submission of the Reform Programme of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2025, as well as the first Individual Partnership Programme for the period 2025-2028. They also discussed the continuation of the process of mid-term assessment of partnership goals within the ITPP, along with current security and geopolitical challenges and the role of NATO in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.
The meeting sits inside a broader pattern of institutional cooperation that has already produced significant progress in relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and NATO. That progress has not ended the process; it has moved the work into a phase where reform planning, political dialogue, and assessment now run together.
Brussels DPRC assessment
Tomorrow, the NATO Deputy Permanent Representatives Committee in Brussels was set to consider the assessment of the implementation of the Reform Program for the period 2023-2025. That review gives the Sarajevo meeting immediate weight: Brkić has already laid out the 2026 preparation work, while the committee in Brussels is due to examine what was carried out in the previous cycle.
Brkić and Fowler also exchanged views on the contribution of Bosnia and Herzegovina to international security through the participation of members of the Armed Forces of BiH in international military missions and peace support operations. They assessed that preserving the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina is of key importance for the security of the Western Balkans and Europe.
For Bosnia and Herzegovina, the practical question now is whether the reform line moving from 2023-2025 into 2026 keeps its pace. The Brussels assessment will show how far the partnership mechanisms have advanced, and the Sarajevo meeting has already signaled that both sides expect the process to continue through the NATO Cooperation Commission and the next reform program.
