Switzerland takes over the management of the transport company within KFOR in Kosovo. This has been made possible thanks to the increased number of Swisscoy soldiers, which the Swiss Parliament has voted for, reports albinfo.ch. There are now 215 soldiers stationed in Kosovo, twenty more than before.
The change from the 49th contingent to the 50th contingent of the Swisscoy was made on Thursday, as announced by Swissint, the army’s competence center for international peacebuilding, writes sda.ch. Switzerland has taken over command of the multinational shipping company from Austria since March 9.
Taking over the command offers Switzerland the opportunity to strengthen its commitment within KFOR and to support the mission in adapting to the changed security circumstances in the region, the statement says, albinfo.ch reports. In this way, Switzerland is contributing to efforts to stabilize the situation in the Western Balkans.
Since 1999, the Swiss army with Swisscoy has been involved in the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo “KFOR”, the multinational military formation led by NATO that was created in 1999 after the end of the war in Kosovo.
In June 2023, Parliament extended Swisscoy’s stay in Kosovo until the end of 2026.
