08.11.2017.
Meeting of the Chiefs of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Serbia and Romania
Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubiša Diković and Chief of General Staff of Romanian Armed Forces General Nicolae-Ionel Ciucǎ met today in the barracks “Banjica 2” in Belgrade.
After the official reception ceremony and press releases, Generals Diković and Ciucǎ held a meeting with their associates where they discussed the security situation in the region and world, international military cooperation, exercises, education, personnel advancement and training, and military medical and military economy cooperation.
Welcoming General Ciucǎ and the Romanian delegation, General Diković emphasised that the friends should be gained and that thus created friendships should be cherished and maintained.
- Friendship with Romania was created by our ancestors, and our obligation today is to expand it, strengthen it and continue working together in the interest of both Armed Forces of Romania and Serbian Armed Forces. Regional cooperation is one of the priorities of the international military cooperation of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces and this is an opportunity to, once again, define with General Ciucǎ the following directions and paths of our cooperation, the areas of that cooperation and to strengthen these friendly ties, all for the purpose of maintaining stability and peace in this region and joint participation in building peace in the world – General Diković stressed and said that the fact that Romania did not recognise the independence of Kosovo and Metiohija was always worthy of noting as well as highly professional execution of tasks of the members of the Romanian Armed Forces within KFOR.
The Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces highlighted that the topics of that day’s talks encompassed the security situation in the Balkan region, where Serbia was a stability factor as well as its membership in the European Union.
- With the assistance and support of our friends, like it was so far, we perceive the membership in the European Union as an attainable goal. Yesterday, we had a wonderful day in the European Union Military Committee where we received recognition for the participation of our forces in EU peacekeeping operations by which we confirmed our readiness, capability and orientation towards full EU membership – General Diković stressed.
Chief of General Staff of Romanian Armed Forces General Ciucǎ thanked his Serbian colleague for an exquisite welcome and confirmed the long lasting and historical friendship between the two countries and two armed forces.
- Romania desires strengthening ties with the Balkan countries and it is dedicated to regional stability. Maintaining this relation represents a highly important goal for Romanian Armed Forces and at the same time, our common interest is for the countries of the region and the European Union to maintain peace in this area. We will have an opportunity to discuss numerous topics including development of our states within regional and European framework, and the opportunities for joint participation in bilateral and multilateral exercises and training activities. The positions that we have as the leaders of two armed forces obliges us to do everything that we can to provide a stable and secure regional environment for our states – General Ciucǎ said.
Today’s meeting was also attended by Ambassador of Romania in Belgrade Oana-Cristina Popa, representatives of the Serbian Armed Forces and the delegation members of Romanian Armed Forces.
