09.09.2016.
Djordjevic with the British Secretary of State for Defence and the US Under Secretary of Defence
Defence Minister Zoran Djordjevic, who participated in the London Conference on the United Nations Peacekeeping, met with British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, and US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Brian McKeon.During the talks with Defence Secretary Fallon, the achievements of the Ministry of Defence in the process of defence reform were presented, with particular emphasis on the contribution in the process of Serbia's accession to the European Union, implementation of activities under the Partnership for Peace Programme, regional aspects of security policy and further plans for the promotion of regional cooperation in the field of defence. The area of building integrity is of strategic importance because it aims to identify the risks of corruption and unethical behaviour in the defence sector not only in Serbia but also in all countries of South Eastern Europe.
Minister Djordjevic thanked for the previous support and conveyed the expectations that further cooperation will be directed towards education and all forms of training. For Serbia, destruction of surplus conventional ammunition is of special significance and the Ministry of Defence hopes that there will be similar projects in the future in which the United Kingdom has a leading role.
Djordjevic reiterated that the bilateral military cooperation with the United Kingdom is the top priority, not only when it comes to the main areas of cooperation, but also in those areas that are in the initial stage, such as cooperation between the land forces. In that regard, project proposals of the Ministry of Defence were also discussed and a request was conveyed to the British side to consider the possibility of participating in some of them.
Secretary Fallon conveyed that the United Kingdom is a sincerely devoted friend of Serbia and that it will seek to speed up the completion of the initiated projects and make a step further in the new areas of cooperation.
The United Kingdom invests its best efforts in raising capacity of knowledge and skills and is ready for the transfer of capacities for advanced training in the area of military medicine. As they recognise quality and expertise of the Serbian medical personnel, the exchange of scientific and practical knowledge of war surgery and preventive medicine is in the mutual interest. Secretary Fallon expressed the hope that, in the near future, Serbian and British medical teams are going to be a part of the joint forces in some of the UN or EU peacekeeping operations.
At the meeting with the US Under Secretary of Defence, they stated a high level of bilateral military cooperation, and significant emphasis was placed on projects relating to the modernization and equipping of the Serbian Armed Forces, the State Partnership Programme with the Ohio NG, as well as the mutual education and advanced training of personnel.
Taking into account the context of the Conference, the emphasis was put on cooperation focused on strengthening the capacities for participation in multinational operations, with special emphasis on the development of the Peacekeeping Operations and Pre-Deployment Training Centre, and the capabilities of the Engineering General Support Company and equipping the air medical evacuation team, the forces which Serbia pledged for UN missions.
They talked also about other political and security aspects of contemporary international relations, with particular reference to the migrant crisis and the consequences it entails for the Balkans, Europe and globally.
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