The Minister for Defence has said Irish troops will remain in Bosnia-Herzegovina for the foreseeable future.
Willie O'Dea was speaking during a visit to the country which saw some of the worst ethnic cleansing in the Balkan conflict over a decade ago.
The Minister, accompanied by Chief of Staff Lt Gen Dermot Earley, spent the second day of his visit calling to various locations where the 44 Irish soldiers are deployed.
The two called to a site where ten of the Irish troops are involved in the storage and movement of weapons used in the ethnic conflict after the break of Yoguslavia in the 1990s.
Well over 100,000 people were killed in Bosnia in atrocities during the conflict. The country is about half the size of Ireland with about the same population.
Mr O'Dea and Lt Gen Earley also visited the Irish headquarters at Camp Butmir outside the capital, Sarajevo, and spoke to members of the Defence Forces involved as military police, customs inspectors and administrators.
The Minister told the troops that while the mission was small it was very important in bringing a stable peace to Bosnia.
He said their experience was valued by the various authorities in Bosnia, who expressed the view that they would be disappointed if the Irish presence was discontinued.
Mr O'Dea visited the EU Special Representative Mr Miroslav Lajcak, the commander of EUFOR Major General Ignacio Villalaín, and the Head of the EU Police Mission.'
The Irish ambassador, Patrick McCabe, was with Minister O'Dea throughout the day.
