16.04.2017.
The Prime Minister with members of the 250th Missile Brigade on Easter
The Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic accompanied by the Defence Minister Zoran Djordjevic and the Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic paid a visit this morning to on-call units of the Air Force and Air Defence in the barracks “The National Hero Major Milan Tepic” in Jakovo, where he had breakfast with members of the 250th Missile Brigade on Easter.
Vucic extended his congratulations to soldiers and their families, the Serbian Armed Forces, with a wish to always have peace and remain vigilant in protecting our sky and the security of our citizens.
“Thank you for working at all times, even during holidays, and thank you for your love of the country”, the Prime Minister said and told members of the Serbian Armed Forces that, besides modernization of the Armed Forces, purchase of arms and new uniforms, he would strive to increase their salaries, especially of soldiers and NCOs.
The Prime Minister emphasized that during the visit modernization of the Air Force and Air Defence was discussed “in order to protect our sky more efficiently”, and he added that he could see the advancement of the Armed Forces in comparison to the period when he was the Defence Minister.
“I am proud of our Armed Forces. We saw today the modernized radar systems and we look forward to further modernization of the Air Force and Air Defence systems. I am elated at the way people maintain the equipment, out of which 98 percent is in good condition”, the Prime Minister said.
He announced the additional increase of number of soldiers, as well as the fact that the defence industry should be the driving force of the development of our economy, employment of people, and to secure further modernization and enhancement of our Armed Forces.
“In September we will have 300 soldiers more than the current strength, and we plan 500 new ones for the next year, which will increase the strength of our Armed Forces”, Vucic said.
The Prime Minister confirmed that the greatest amount of money would be invested in “Zastava” factory in Kragujevac, but investments would not bypass “Milan Blagojevic” factory in Lucani, as well as that he expects the recent completion of the factory in Uzići with solution of the issue of the gyroscope factory “Teleoptik”.
“I think there lies our great chance to develop, improve and accelerate our economic growth, and our Armed Forces”, the Prime Minister said.
He reminded of the recent exercises in Nikinci, where “Lazar” had an excellent performance, and that “Nora” is on special tests at the moment. The plan is that the Serbian Armed Forces have a total of 18 of these resources in its defence system.
Members of the 250th Missile Brigade gave the Prime Minister a present in memory of Easter visit, and he answered with the words that he hopes he will be able soon to give them as a present “something that will make them happy and content”.
Before joint breakfast, Vucic toured the barracks. In a short exercise soldiers demonstrated readiness and the equipping level of the brigade, which the Prime Minister assessed as successful.
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