DAYTON, OHIO – Today, Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) hosted a press conference with the President of Sinclair Community College, President Steve Johnson to discuss Sinclair's role during the 2025 Spring Session of the NATO PA in Dayton, Ohio.
"We had several Heads of State that came to Dayton, Ohio as part of the celebration of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, and there was a lot to discuss among those Heads of State, as we did both a retrospective and a prospective on what we need to do to try to address some of the issues that were outstanding with the tensions in the Balkans and with respect to the Dayton Peace Accords themselves," said Congressman Mike Turner. "I want to thank Sinclair and specifically President Johnson for allowing Sinclair Community College to be the site for each of these Heads of State to come together."
"That which was done here was a tangential set of diplomatic activities for the Balkan countries aside from and adjacent to the NATO summit in downtown Dayton," said President Steve Johnson. "Sinclair was simply a host site, however, the following types of issues of concern and of optimism were likely discussed here, all across this building, from high to low over the past several days: Balkan regional stability and security, European integration for several of the countries, foreign influence and geopolitics, migration, borders and asylum policy, economic development and trade cooperation, and education and youth ability."
Background:
During the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Sinclair Community College hosted several heads of state and diplomats from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania as well as the U.S. State Department and U.S. House of Representatives.
Independent of the official sessions of the NATO PA, these meetings allowed these heads of state and diplomats to have bilateral conversations on many issues that affect the Balkans. These meetings were instrumental in shaping discussions on international diplomacy, as well as key issues facing NATO, such as security, transatlantic cooperation, trade, and countering malign influences in the Balkans.
Sinclair Community College closed Building 12, the David H. Ponitz Center, to the public from May 22-26 for these meetings. Sinclair Community College also provided dedicated police officers to work with U.S. Secret Service, the Diplomatic Security Service, Ohio BCI, State Police, U.S. Marines, and U.S. Air Force officials to maintain a secure environment for these dignitaries.