20.04.2023.
Minister Vučević Meets Ambassador of Sweden Annika Ben David
Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević met the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden in Belgrade, Annika Ben David.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Vučević bid welcome to Ambassador Ben David and he expressed his hope that one of the priorities during Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU would be finding possibilities and ways to speed up the process of the European integration of the Republic of Serbia.
As Minister Vučević pointed out “the Republic of Serbia will continue pursuing a balanced defence policy, with a long-term strategic orientation to maintain the status of a military neutral country, working on the enhancement and further qualitative development of defence relations with partner states and international organisations in line with national interests and foreign policy priorities.
Minister Vučević noted that, apart from the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty and regional cooperation, another foreign policy goal of the Republic of Serbia is the membership of the European Union. During the meeting, the minister reminded of a visible contribution of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces to the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union.
In addition, he expressed his commitment to the enhancement of defence cooperation between the two countries that would be in mutual interest.
Speaking in the context of Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, which started on 1st January 2023, Ambassador Ben David confirmed that Sweden advocated the enlargement of the European Union, and that it strongly supported Serbia on its path of European integration. She underlined her particular engagement on further development of the cooperation between the Kingdom of Sweden and Republic of Serbia, with particular focus on the issues of environment, gender equality and democracy, and she agreed that there is a need to enhance the defence cooperation.
