02.02.2017.
Confirmation of the high level of understanding and the need to improve cooperation with the United Kingdom
During the official visit of Deputy Chief of Defence Staff of the United Kingdom General Gordon Messenger, which is the first visit of a senior official from the British Armed Forces since the establishment of modern Serbian Armed Forces, the delegation was received by State Secretary Nenad Nerić.
State Secretary Nerić assessed that the Serbian-British relations were at their historical peak since the establishment 180 years ago, and that it was in our mutual interest for this trend to continue. He expressed satisfaction with the fact that the defence cooperation was the best part of these relations. He thanked for the support in education of members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces at the most prestigious British institutions, while the British initiative for the establishment of a NATO Trust Fund for the destruction of surplus ammunition, in which the United Kingdom has a leading role, is of special importance for the defence reform.
Nerić expressed interest in continuing the promotion of military-educational, military-to-military and military medical cooperation, adding that in the near future he expected possibility of joint involvement in the context of a medical contingent in a multinational operation under the auspices of the United Nations.
General Messenger said that the UK saw Serbia as a key partner for the stability in the Balkans, with which it is permanently committed to the development and promotion of bilateral cooperation. As a confirmation of the successful military cooperation he announced the visit of the British Minister of Defence during 2017. He referred to the active contribution of Serbia to multinational operations and pointed out that its attitude towards the issue of gender equality in the defence system, as well as in multinational operations, could serve as an example to others.
Deputy Chief of Defence Staff of the United Kingdom praised the humane and professional approach of Serbia to resolving the result of the migrant crisis and stressed that the priorities of the future cooperation should be focused on solving the current security challenges and asymmetric threats, including the fight against terrorism.
They agreed to continue cooperation in the main fields and pointed out their consent and readiness for establishing cooperation in new areas such as cyber security.
As confirmation of the achieved agreement and understanding, Navy Captain Milan Konjikovac, Head of the International Military Cooperation Department, and Mr Simon Lowe, Political Director for wider Europe, signed, for the first time, the 2017 Bilateral Military Cooperation Programme.
PHOTOGALLERY
VIDEOGALLERY02.02.2017
mp4 (41,65 MB)Meeting
