24.07.2023.
Minister Vučević opens 7th session of Joint Serbia-Angola Committee on Defence Cooperation in Belgrade
Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević opened the seventh session of the Joint Serbia-Angola Committee on Defence Cooperation at the Guard Club in Topčider.
In his opening speech, the Minister of Defence welcomed the guests from the Republic of Angola, a country that has traditionally friendly relations with Serbia, and expressed his pleasure at the opportunity to host the Angolan delegation in Belgrade. - Last year’s events marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of the first president Agostinho Neto reminded us of the times that laid the foundations for our friendship and cooperation, which is primarily reflected in the Non-Aligned Movement. The Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Angola share historic ties and relations that are almost half a century long. Both countries respect and cultivate traditional friendship that was formed during the time of former Yugoslavia. I especially want to thank Angola for its principled position regarding the territorial integrity of Serbia, i.e. its non-recognition of the so-called independence of "Kosovo", which is an inalienable part of Serbia - said Minister Vučević.
He said that our country was committed to promoting defence cooperation in economic, educational, medical, military to military and all other areas, and recalled Angola’s senior officials’ visits to our country in recent past, as well as their importance for the cooperation between the two countries.- I would also like to ask you, General Neto, to extend our invitation to the Minister of Defence to visit "Partner 2023", the 11th International Arms and Military Equipment Fair, which will be held in Belgrade September 25-28 this year. It would be a great honour for us to have him visit us and it would be another confirmation of strong, friendly relations between our two countries – said Minister Vučević.
The Minister of Defence stressed that it was important for the joint committee on defence cooperation to hold sessions in the coming period as it had been in the past, in order to contribute to the development and improvement of defence capabilities of the two countries, and to improve the performance and business of Serbian companies on the Angolan market.
- I am glad that the talks between the two delegations during the sixth session were successful, and I expect that the decisions made during that session, along with the decisions we make now, will be of great importance for the further improvement of defence cooperation and overall bilateral relations between the two countries. As for the military-economic cooperation, both countries are interested in intensifying and expanding it. I would say that it is a mutual goal, and in a way, an obligation of both parties. I would also like to point out that we are determined to continue and strengthen military-educational cooperation and, General Neto, in the next few days you can expect the Serbian side to send invitation letters for members of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Angola to receive training here in the school year 2024/2025 - said Minister Vučević.He expressed his belief that high-level visits will be organized in the coming period, and that activities in all the aforementioned areas will not just be planned, but carried out.
- What Serbia wants to see is concretization, i.e. implementation. And finally, I encourage you to engage in an open dialogue during the joint committee session, exchanging opinions and proposals for the further strengthening of defence cooperation in all areas of mutual interest, which will also contribute to the further strengthening of overall relations between our friendly countries. Long live the Serbia-Angola friendship - Minister Vučević said.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Nemanja Starović, Co-Chair of the Joint Serbia-Angola Committee, expressed his satisfaction with the opportunity to host a high-level military-political delegation from the Republic of Angola for the next five days.- We have a lot of work to do, but it will, without a doubt, be much easier due to the fact that Serbia and Angola cultivate a traditionally close friendship, which is a solid foundation for building everything we intend and plan to build in the years ahead. Whether we are talking about cooperation in the domain of military education, military medicine, military to military or military-economic cooperation, I think we have achieved a lot over the past several years - emphasized State Secretary Starović.
Speaking about military-economic cooperation, which will be given focus over the next five days, State Secretary Starović said that a lot has been achieved in that respect.
- Our international trade in defence industry products already amounts to tens of millions of dollars. It is, however, only a fragment of what our total potentials are. Over the next five days, together with the high-ranking Angolan delegation, we will visit a number of companies belonging to the Serbian Defence Industry Group throughout our beautiful country, and our guests will also have the opportunity to see for themselves the technology and production processes, in order to further intensify our trade, but also to discuss potential joint projects and technology transfers - State Secretary Starović said.
The audience was also addressed by Secretary of State for Military Industry Afonso Carlos Neto, head of the delegation from the Ministry of National Defence and Homeland Veterans of Angola. He said he was particularly pleased that the Minister of Defence of Serbia was in attendance at the meeting and thanked for the hospitality.- We are ready to strike a balance between our joint activities on the basis of what was agreed at the previous sixth session. With all the topics that we will cover during the session, we should not forget the role that Yugoslavia once played in the world, and especially that it supported the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement - said Secretary of State Neto.
Speaking about Angola’s unchanged position regarding Kosovo and Metohija, Secretary of State Neto says that the current events are a mere attempt to weaken Serbia and that Angola condemns such activities and provides support to Serbia.
- When it comes to overall cooperation, our presence here today justifies the Agreement on Military Technical Cooperation. We have several areas and topics that we would like to discuss. Certainly, one of the most important topics and areas of cooperation is staff training, and we would like to thank Serbia for always being cooperative in that respect - said Secretary of State Neto and thanked for the invitation for the Minister of Defence of Angola to visit the International Arms and Military Equipment Fair "Partner 2023" in September this year.
In addition to Serbian and Angolan delegations, today's session was attended by representatives of Joint Committee companies and representatives of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.