Germany military envoy given Croatian state decoration

ZAGREB, Sept 21 (Hina) - On behalf of Croatian President and Armed Forces Supreme Commander Ivo Josipovic, Deputy Defence Minister Visnja Tafra on Friday handed German military envoy Colonel Ralf Mayer a state decoration for his outstanding contribution to the development of Croatian-German relations.

Mayer was accredited military envoy three years ago today and during his mandate an excellent platform has been established, enabling Croatia to become one of the countries with the status of Germany's privileged partner, the Defence Ministry said in a press release.

Tafra said the Croatian-German alliance was most evident in the NATO-led ISAF mission to Afghanistan as well as in the joint engagement in the stabilisation of Southeast Europe.

Earlier this month, the 20th 259-strong Croatian contingent was sent to ISAF and deployed in the Regional Command North, which is under German control.

Mayer thanked Tafra for the decoration, saying it was the result of Croatian-German defence cooperation. He said one of the biggest joint successes was Croatia's inclusion in the international operation Atalanta, as part of which one Croatian Navy officer is deployed on a German Navy ship and another in a German base in Djibouti.