26.05.2021.
Minister Stefanović gives lecture to students attending French Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, gave a lecture today on the strategic issues of our country's defence policy to a group of 35 students who attend the Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence (L'Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale), which operates within the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.
The French delegation was led by the Institute Director, Lieutenant General Patrick Destremau, while the event was also attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of France to Serbia, Jean-Louis Falconi.At the beginning of his presentation, Minister Stefanović pointed out that close cooperation in the field of security at the global and regional levels was especially important for Serbia because it created conditions for economic growth and development.
– Excluding the period of Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of stability is crucial for all investors who are considering their presence in a certain country or a region - said Stefanović.
Serbia strives to play a key role in the multilateral approach to preserving stability in the region, he stated. According to him, our country is committed to continuously improving its defence system in order to be able to respond to all potential challenges.
The Republic of Serbia is determined to resolve all issues, especially when it comes to relations in the region, in a peaceful way, and at the same time is committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, the Minister said.Speaking about Serbia’s military neutrality, Stefanović explained that our country’s determination to be neutral meant that it would not enter into any military alliances, neither with Russia, nor with China, nor with the North Atlantic Alliance.
– We want to be neutral and to depend exclusively on ourselves, which does not mean that we do not want cooperation with military alliances - said the Minister.
According to him, our country has been successfully cooperating with NATO for 15 years within the Partnership for Peace Programme, as well as with other countries, especially in the field of joint training, military industry and achieving standards that Serbia deems appropriate.
– Our cooperation with Russia and China is also important and it is mostly based on the military-technical aspect and joint training. We are quite transparent regarding our cooperation with all countries of the world - said Stefanović.The Minister stated that the key strategic commitment of the Republic of Serbia was to become a member of the European Union, which was also reflected in defence, since that included integration into the EU’s common security and defence policy.
Stefanović also mentioned the upcoming exercise "Platinum Wolf" which is to be attended by the French Chief of the Defence Staff, General François Lecointre, the importance of cooperation with France in the field of defence and the purchase of Airbus X-145 helicopters and “Mistral“ weapon systems.
