13.02.2014.
Handover of duty ceremony in NATO MLO
Italian Brigadier General Luco Bata took over the position of the NATO Military Liaison Office in Belgrade from the Italian Brigadier General Ornello Barona at a handover ceremony at the Great Hall of the old General Staff Building.The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Defence of Serbia Nebojsa Rodic , Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army , General Ljubisa Diković , commander of the NATO Joint Force Command in Naples , Admiral Bruce Klingan , U.S. Ambassador Michael Kirby , Ambassador of the Slovak Republic - NATO Contact Embassy in Belgrade , Jan Vars, military officials , and representatives of the Ministry of Defense , the Army of Serbia , non-governmental organizations and the diplomatic corps .
Admiral Klingan expressed his pleasure at attending today's handover ceremony, and pointed out that the cooperation of NATO Military Liaison Office and Serbia is an important chapter with the whole relationship built on trust . Admiral paid tribute to General Baron for a two-year service as the Head of NATO Military Liaison Office in Belgrade .
General Baron said he was particularly honored to serve in Serbia and will not easily forget the time spent here adding that he will remember the professionalism and dedication of Serbian military authorities. On this occasion he praised the military leadership of Serbia , and wished success Brigadier to General Bata and his team .The new head in office , general Bata , said he was looking forward to continuing support to the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces in their continuing reform efforts and expressed the hope that the partnership would continue to strengthen , as NATO stands ready to continue cooperation with Serbia on a common agenda .
Brigadier General Bata is the sixth head of the NATO Military Liaison Office since its inception in 2006. He was on the same function in 2007 and 2008 in Belgrade.
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