The Earl of Carlisleasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which Central and Eastern European nations have decided to adopt the United Kingdom's model for 16WA training and equipping their armed forces; and what measures are being taken to expedite this process. [HL175]
§ Lord GilbertI am pleased to say that Latvia and Lithuania have decided to follow the UK model for NCO and officer training, and we will be providing significant support for these projects in forthcoming years. Estonia and Slovenia are considering adopting UK models also; we would be prepared to support such moves in a similar way. Romania has also decided to adopt the UK operational staff training system, and we will continue to support this project at the Regional Training Centre in Bucharest.
Our military assistance to date has reinforced the reputation of our armed forces. We have recently adopted a system that builds on this by providing specialist military teams to give advice on training matters; and recommend, where appropriate, how we can best provide support if the decision is taken to follow the British model.
Her Majesty's Government see defence diplomacy as an important and growing task. A key component of this is the provision of doctrinal, training and organisational advice, and we are delighted to make this available if requested as the countries of central and eastern Europe grapple with the reorganisation of their armed forces.