ZAGREB, 2 Sept 2021 - Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Thursday took part in an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, which focused on the situation in Afghanistan, the Croatian ministry said.

Banožić said at the meeting that lessons learned in Afghanistan should be applied in the common security and defence policy so as not to repeat the same mistakes.

"In cooperation with our partners, we must focus on the prevention of a humanitarian disaster in the form of uncontrolled migrations and make sure Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorist organizations," he said.

As for the EU's operational engagement, Banožić said that support to partners in the Sahel, Libya, and the EU's immediate neighborhood was unquestionable but that at the same time one should make it clear that the partners were expected to implement the necessary political and security reforms.

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