12.09.2017.
Sixth Sitting of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee held
At the House of the National Assembly today, theSixth Sitting of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee was held with one item on the agenda - considering the activity information of the Ministry of Defence for the periods October - December 2016, January - March and April - June 2017.
Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin presented information about the work of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces for the mentioned period and pointed out that in the report this institution specifically dealt with the drafting of strategic doctrinal documents, since everything else derives from them.
- These documents influence the kind of answers we give, how we plan our defence, what kind of budget we will make, what will be the organization of the military in relation to what we anticipate in drafting strategic doctrinal documents, the Minister of Defence said.
Minister Vulin also spoke about the significance of the Serbian Armed Forces when it comes to the European integration, the conduct of the National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Security Council 1325, as well as the international military cooperation and participation of the Serbian Armed Forces in multinational operations in the world.
He also pointed out that the financing of the defence system functions in accordance with the plan, and noted that in 2016, the budget spending was 99.08 percent. Vulin also talked about human and material resources in the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, about military health and defence industry, which, according to the Minister of Defence, is very important for the development of the country, and pointed out that it is for the first time that the Serbian Government has earmarked the assistance funds in the amount of EUR 49 million.
The Minister said that it is absolutely necessary to increase salaries in the Serbian Armed Forces, but not linearly. He pointed out that he himself personally advocates in the first place for the increase in salaries of non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
- We are working on increasing the salaries, solving housing problems and increasing the privileged relationship in society towards members of the Serbian Armed Forces and their families, Vulin stressed.
The defence minister also stated that MiGs from Russia will arrive by the end of the year. Noting that since the NATO bombing, Serbia has not had any MiG's 29 squadrons, Vulin pointed out that our state has had a need for them since 2000.
- The MiGs were a "pervasive need" and I wonder why they have not been purchased all these years. MiG-29 aircraft will arrive by the end of the year, refurbished and painted, Vulin pointed out.
The sitting was also attended by state secretaries in the Ministry of Defence, Aleksandar Živković and Bojan Jocić, Acting Assistant Minister of Defence for Material Resources Nenad Miloradović, Acting Assistant Minister of Defence for Budget and Finance Radmila Jagodić, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Zoran Lazić, Head of the Department for International Military Cooperation of Defence Policy Sector in the Ministry of Defence, Navy Captain Milan Konjikovac, head of the Operations Department of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces Brigadier General Duško Žarković and Head of the Personnel Department of the Human Resources Sector of the Ministry of Defence Brigadier General Mile Jelić.
At today's sitting, the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee adopted the reports on the work of the Ministry of Defence for the above-mentioned periods.
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