05.03.2025.
Minister Gašić attends ceremony marking Military Intelligence Agency Day, 141st anniversary of Military Intelligence Service
Today, Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić attended a ceremony marking the Military Intelligence Agency (VOA) Day and the 141st anniversary of the Military Intelligence Service, at the Old General Staff’s Great War Hall.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Đurić, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Nemanja Starović, Security Information Agency Director Vladimir Orlić, Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff Lieutenant General Tiosav Janković, members of the Ministry Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, representatives of state institutions, religious communities, military diplomats and numerous guests.Addressing the audience and congratulating them on today's anniversary, Minister Gašić said that “the Military Intelligence Service developed and operated successfully in both war and peace and, in crucial moments, its members managed to provide the state and military leaderships with crucial information needed for making the most important decisions”.
- Today, your service is a modern organization that has successfully adapted to contemporary challenges by integrating various specialties. Due to the fact that you are the only purely intelligence service in our country, your scope of operations goes beyond defence and includes reporting on broader security, political, economic and energy challenges. Recognizing the Military Intelligence Agency’s information gathering and analytical capabilities, the state leadership continuously supports your development in organizational, technical and financial terms – said the Minister of Defence, adding that the number of defence attaché offices abroad has risen to 31.
He expressed his belief that the VOA personnel would continue to perform their tasks competently in the future, “being the first to recognize processes, organizations and individuals abroad who do not have honourable intentions towards our military, state and people”.According to him, today, the Military Intelligence Agency has a modern analytical service, which, by cross-checking the collected data, creates informational materials in a specific way and promptly informs the state and military leaderships, the units of the Serbian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence, and other state institutions.
Minister Gašić said he was pleased that “a wide network of contacts with foreign intelligence and security structures has been successfully established, which is useful both for exchanging data of mutual interest, and for showing our country and armed forces in the best light possible”.
- I am certain that, professionally and morally, you are on top of all your tasks. The knowledge and experience you have inherited from previous generations are an important asset for all service members today. Therefore, I believe that in the future the Agency will be an insurmountable barrier to the external enemies of our country, and a reliable support for the state and military leaderships. Congratulations on your anniversary, I hope you will continue to do your work patriotically, honourably and professionally – said Minister Gašić.
As part of the celebrations, members of the Military Intelligence Agency also hosted a ceremony for active duty and retired members of the Agency.The Military Intelligence Agency Day commemorates March 5, 1884, when the External Affairs Office was formed within the Operations Department of the Main General Staff and when military intelligence activity was first institutionalized in Serbia.
PHOTOGALLERY
VIDEOGALLERY05.03.2025
mp4 (346,2 MB)Minister Gasic's address
