27.05.2021.
Minister of Defence meets with Director of UN Office in Belgrade
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, met today with the newly appointed representative of the United Nations Secretary General and Director of the UN Office in Belgrade, Mari Yamashita.
He congratulated Yamashita on her appointment, wished her a lot of success in her new position and expressed hope that during her tenure, the cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces and the UN Office, would continue to the mutual satisfaction, as in the previous years.
Minister Stefanović stated that the United Nations was the most important international organization for us, and especially important for Serbia in terms of protecting our sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to him, good cooperation with the UN Office in Belgrade is of utmost importance, since it is the main communication channel with the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). In that regard, Stefanović expressed hope that UNMIK would remain in our southern province with its mandate unchanged and its scope and composition undiminished.
The Minister also emphasized that the participation of the Serbian Armed Forces members in UN peacekeeping operations was a positive contribution to the preservation of international peace and security, to which we attach outstanding importance.Stefanović thanked Yamashita for the close cooperation with the UNDP Office in Belgrade, which had been reflected, over the past period, in the provision of professional and financial assistance as part of new programs, especially in the field of gender equality. He pointed out that the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces accepted the concept of gender equality as one of their strategic commitments and that they would continue systematically implementing measures to increase the representation of women and their equal participation in carrying out all tasks.
Director of the UN Office in Belgrade, Mari Yamashita, thanked Minister Stefanović for his congratulations on her new appointment and expressed confidence that the future cooperation would be based on the already established friendly relationship.
According to her, the Office that she manages can offer a lot in terms of help, advice and expertise, and she offered further support for the realization of the ongoing projects. Yamashita expressed satisfaction with the cooperation so far and suggested its further improvement, especially in the areas of gender equality and capacity building for participation in UN peacekeeping missions.
