30.10.2023.

Minister Vučević attends presentation of White Paper on Defence of Republic of Serbia

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević attended the presentation of the White Paper on Defence of the Republic of Serbia at the Central Military Club in Belgrade, today.

At the beginning of his address, Minister Vučević congratulated everyone who had taken part in the preparation and drafting of that important document for the defence system of the Republic of Serbia.

- I would like to note that before this document, after many decades, another key strategic document, the Total Defence Concept, was adopted. The people who have been working in the defence system much longer than me say that our country did not have such a document, practically since the collapse of the SFRY, and that we are not filling some formal gap with it, but we are essentially providing a basis for the further development of our country's defence, understanding all the circumstances surrounding us - said Minister Vučević.

This document is one of the key strategic documents, he said, along with the Strategic Defence Review and other planning documents, which grant us the right, give us the strength and provide a basis for us to further develop everything pertaining to the defence of our homeland in accordance with the constitutional and legal competences of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces and, first and foremost, in accordance with the expectations of our country and our citizens.

- The White Paper is supposed to clearly present to the public everything that the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces do. Its transparency and democratic approach are proof that nothing is being done secretly, behind closed doors, and that there are no ambiguities. On the other hand, neither transparency nor democracy must jeopardize defence, there must be a correlation between those relations or entities - emphasized the Minister of Defence, pointing out the risks associated with transparency, such as banalizing the concept of defence or a country’s right to defence.

According to him, there is no greater responsibility for the state leadership than the defence of the country and its citizens and the protection of national and defence interests.

- A prerequisite for the successful fulfilment of that responsibility is the assessment of the security environment, identifying the special ability of the defence system and an effective implementation of measures to further enhance the capabilities of both the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces. I expect all of you to implement everything that we have prepared, proposed and defined in these two documents, three in fact, if we include the White Paper. The documents that you worked hard to prepare and that we now have for the first time after many years, must be implemented. They must not become the so-called "dead letter", but genuine, authentic documents, in the sense of their actual existence, functioning, and our ability to understand and apply them - emphasized the Minister of Defence.

We must take care of our security, Minister Vučević said, bearing in mind all the circumstances that surround us and that will define the world in the period to come. He pointed out the importance of the segment of the Ministry of Defence dealing with defence policy, expressing his expectation that they would thoroughly analyse, understand, and define in our strategic documents the security challenges, risks and threats to our country, taking into account all geopolitical developments.

- We must not be stuck in the past, we must not pretend not to know that we are living in a time of change, despite the efforts of those who are trying to dispute that or who are saying that nothing is changing – things are changing, and we are witnessing, consciously or subconsciously, major geopolitical changes and Serbia must understand this, it must monitor and prevent everything that needs to be prevented and by strengthening the total defence concept and the Serbian Armed Forces, we must strengthen our potential as a deterrent against all potential threats to our country - said Minister Vučević.

The Minister of Defence believes that the White Paper will be interesting for the public, who will be able to see aspects of work of the Ministry of Defence pertaining to the defence of our country, which is studious and demanding work in favour of the protection of our homeland.

- The Republic of Serbia remains a neutral state, which does not exclude cooperation with other countries and other organizations in terms of security, whether bilateral or multilateral. We remain committed to participating in all peacekeeping operations and missions where we have the personnel ready to deploy - we will always be there to help people live in peace regardless of the continent or country. But by preserving our military neutrality, we also preserve our sovereignty, we preserve Serbia’s independence, we believe in a state that makes its own decisions, in a state that thinks for itself, that takes care of its national, state and people's interests - stressed Minister Vučević.

We do not want to be "yes-men", he said, neither do we want conflicts or arguments, but no one can take away our right to make decisions in accordance with our state, national and people's interests.

- And as long as this is Serbia's policy, it will be much more appreciated than the countries that have no stance and that only copy and paste documents without any analyses, policy or position. People appreciate the countries and nations that are allowed to think, that are allowed to say what is right and what is true, not out of defiance, but in order to show that there is continuity in their state and national politics that draws a line between the countries that are trying to be what they are not and those that have had all qualities of a state for decades and centuries - Minister Vučević said.

The White Paper on Defence of the Republic of Serbia was prepared under the auspices of the Strategic Planning Department of the Defence Policy Sector, and the working team tasked with the project was headed by the Head of the Strategic Planning Department, Colonel Dejan Stojković, PhD.

Speaking about the content of the new White Paper on Defence of the Republic of Serbia, Colonel Stojković said that by publishing the book at a time when problems were multiplying and crises were growing and becoming more acute, the Republic of Serbia wanted to present its defence system to the public in a transparent manner and to emphasize its absolute commitment to building peace and stability.

- The White Paper provides an overview of the current strategic context, presents the basic commitments of the defence policy, with a special emphasis on the total defence concept, presents the defence system, the structure of the Ministry of Defence, the missions, tasks, organization and capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces, and other information to acquaint the domestic and foreign public with the results that have been achieved, the ongoing processes and projections about the future development of the defence system - stressed Colonel Stojković.

One of the novelties in the defence system, covered in the Total Defence Concept, he said, is the creation of conditions for a unified command of all defence forces in a state of emergency or war, as well as forming a basis for the enhancement of civil defence as an important segment of the country's defence.

- In the coming period, special attention will be devoted to digitization, expansion of the sensor network, as well as robotization, which will increase the operational capabilities of the military and other forces. Considering the military neutrality and application of the total defence concept, the defence industry is of strategic importance for the defence of our country. Over the past ten years, significant investments have been made in its recovery and in the refurbishment of research and development and production facilities, and the development will continue in the period to come - stressed Colonel Stojković.

Prof. Stanislav Stojanović also spoke about the White Paper on Defence, its importance and content, emphasizing that the basic mission of the White Paper was to create a space for countries to understand each other and to cooperate.

The book promotion was attended by Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Lieutenant General Želimir Glišović, Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret, Head of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Cabinet Žarko Mićin, members of the Defence Minister’s and CHOD’s collegiums, as well as diplomatic military representatives accredited to Serbia.