30.01.2023.
Staff talks with French Defence Staff delegation
A French Defence Staff delegation, led by Chief of the Euro-Atlantic Division, Rear Admiral Luc Raynal, is visiting Belgrade for bilateral defence consultations.
Prior to the official talks, Assistant Minister for Defence Policy Predrag Bandić received the French delegation, thanked them for their visit and expressed his expectation that the talks would be an opportunity to determine directions in which bilateral military cooperation would develop and ways to further improve it. Full EU membership, Assistant Minister Bandić said, is a foreign policy priority and a strategic commitment of the Republic of Serbia, and we expect France’s continued support in this respect.
During the conversation, Head of the International Military Cooperation Department, Colonel Nebojša Svjetlica, said that defence cooperation between Serbia and France was developed, and that a large number of activities had been carried out with France over the past four years, including high-level activities. Colonel Svjetlica emphasized Serbia’s commitment to further developing military-to-military cooperation and training, which would correspond with the improvement in military-economic cooperation.Chief of the French Defence Staff’s Euro-Atlantic Division, Rear Admiral Luc Raynal, thanked Assistant Minister Bandić for the reception at the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, and for his readiness to hold open talks. During the conversation, he emphasized that the French side was determined to continue bilateral military cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
During the consultations, the activities were analyzed and the 2023 Bilateral Military Cooperation Program was agreed upon.