Minister of Defence Marjan Šarec and US Ambassador Jamie L. Harpootlian attended the ceremony to receive the hardware and software, donated by the US Government for the Ministry of Defence's Security Operations Centre for Communications and Information Systems and the Cyber Training Facility.

Maintenance and technical support for all equipment is guaranteed the next three years. The integration of the donated equipment was accompanied by basic training for system operators. Minister Šarec said “that in addition to improving the security of the communication and information systems of the Ministry of Defence and Slovenian Armed Forces, the capacity of the new Cyber Training Centre is of particular importance, adding that the Centre has capabilities for the defence system as well as for the entire national security system and critical infrastructure actors in the Republic of Slovenia, and as such the Training Centre represents a new, enhanced form of cooperation in the regional framework of the NATO's Western Balkan partners. This joint project between Slovenia and the US is particularly important in the times we live in, times in which, unfortunately, cyber activities by actors we do not like are a daily occurrence.”

The training ground will be used for training of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence, as well as for national and international cyber defence exercises.

U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia Jamie L. Harpootlian said she was proud that the U.S. has committed around 30 million euros to support Slovenia's cyber defence, adding, "This is a clear demonstration of the long-standing and deep partnership between the U.S. and Slovenia. The state-of-the-art new Cyber Training and Security Operations Centre we are opening today will provide critical cyber resilience and support Slovenia's growing regional and global leadership in cybersecurity. This project is another great example of how the United States and the Republic of Slovenia are stronger together, working as friends, partners and allies against malicious actors that could threaten our democratic way of life."

Next July, we will conduct our first international exercise at the Cyber Training Centre. In the future, we will also open the Cyber Training Centre for training and education of members of the public administration and educational institutions. At the Cyber Training Centre, we intend to develop and recruit young talents in the field of IT and cyber defence.