13.07.2017.
Unbreakable Friendship and Cooperation between Serbia and Greece
On the side-lines of the first session of the High Council for Cooperation between Serbia and Greece, which is taking place in Thessaloniki today, the Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin talked with his Greek colleague Panos Kammenos about further enhancement of cooperation in the field of defence.
In a cordial discussion, the Ministers emphasised that the relations between Serbia and Greece are traditionally friendly and that there was a clear orientation of both sides towards further intensification of relations in all areas of common interest, including the continuation of the political dialogue and further development of economic cooperation.
- The strongest confirmation of our friendship is the continuous support which Greece renders to our country in the matter of our membership in the EU and preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo and Metohija – Minister Vulin pointed out during the discussion. The Minister particularly thanked the members of the Greek contingent in KFOR for their professional engagement and contribution to security in Kosovo and Metohija. The Republic of Serbia recognises KFOR as its partner and the main stability factor in the southern Serbian province - Vulin explained and added that Serbia strongly opposes the transformation of Kosovo Security Forces into the so called “Kosovo Armed Forces”.
Vulin and Kammenos stressed that there was a mutual interest in further enhancement of defence cooperation. The Greek takeover of the role of the Contact Embassy between the Republic of Serbia and NATO that started on 1st January this year has positively influenced both bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Moreover, the Ministry of National Defence of Hellenic Republic has significantly supported the participation of the Republic of Serbia in the European Union Battle Group HELBROC. Vulin expressed his gratitude for exceptional hospitality of Greek people on the occasions of marking historical dates and events.
Serbian and Greek Ministers of Defence exchanged their positions on the current security challenges in the region, primarily on migrant crisis and agreed that the cooperation of all countries is necessary in the fight against terrorism and other asymmetric security threats that know no boundaries.
The Ministers expressed their satisfaction with recent successful conduct of Special Forces exercise “FALCON”, and the confirmation of the further development of the cooperation is today’s signing of the Protocol on Cooperation in the Field of Military Education which will additionally regulate one of the key areas of cooperation.
During the recent visit of the Greek Minister of National Defence to Serbia, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of the two states was signed for the cooperation in the framework of Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Centre. Furthermore, the Industrial Day was organised during which for the first time, the members of defence industries exchanged information about their programmes and talked about the modalities for the establishment of cooperation.
