Senior gardaí are today travelling to Bosnia-Herzegovina to visit colleagues serving in the EU police force.
There are four officers involved in a 12-month tour of duty with the EU Police Mission. They are assisting the development of sustainable policing arrangements, particularly the fight against organised crime.
Deputy Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald and Chief Supt Patrick Leahy will begin their five-day visit in Sarajevo. They are expected to be briefed on the security situation.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Kevin Carty was head of the EU police mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina until 2006.
Earlier this month Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea and Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lt Gen Dermot Earley visited the 44 Irish troops in the region.
There are a total of 7,000 troops serving with the Eufor mission, which are provided by 22 EU member states and 11 non-EU states.
More than 100,000 people were killed in Bosnia during the Balkans War in the 1990s following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Bosnia-Herzegovina, which has a population of about four million people, is bidding to join the EU.
PA