10.03.2021.

Minister Stefanović visits Republika Srpska’s Ministry of Interior Training Centre

As part of his two-day visit to Republika Srpska, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, met with Republika Srpska’s Minister of the Interior Dragan Lukač in Banja Luka today.

- Cooperation between our military and police and Republika Srpska’s police is very good, it yields fruitful results and it can be further improved. We talked about what we can do together and about military education – Minister Stefanović said, adding that their common goal was to provide good training and conditions for people working in the security sector, so that everybody living in the Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska would be safe and know that they were taken care of by first-rate, well-trained people.

After the meeting, Ministers Stefanović and Lukač visited Republika Srpska’s Ministry of the Interior Training Centre and the helicopter unit in Zalužani near Banja Luka.

- It is important for us to continue cooperation with Republika Srpska in all fields. The economy remains one of our key priorities, just as President Vučić said in his conversation with President Dodik. Everything we have done in the past period has to be intensified; we have to work harder on attracting investment and on the infrastructure, because the money that is created in that way means a better quality of life for the people living here. Republika Srpska is closest to us, we respect the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but no one can stop us from loving Republika Srpska and our people living here. We will continue close cooperation because we want to show that it will bring new quality and contribute to the whole region - the Minister of Defence pointed out and added that the goal was for everyone to live better, to attract new investors, to preserve peace and stability. He also expressed confidence that the two ministries would work hard on this in the coming period.

Minister Lukač thanked Minister Stefanović for the continuous support he had provided to Republika Srpska’s Ministry of the Interior, formerly as the Minister of the Interior, and today as the Minister of Defence.

- We also talked about the cooperation between Republika Srpska’s Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence regarding educating our people at the Military Academy. Six of our cadets are currently studying at the Military Academy, one of whom is a girl who met all the requirements for a helicopter pilot last year - Lukač pointed out, noting that the enrolment in the Military Academy was underway.

Minister Lukač emphasizes that Republika Srpska has not trained helicopter pilots for more than 30 years and that it is therefore important for future members of Republika Srpska’s Ministry of the Interior to have the opportunity to study at the Military Academy. He also says that providing helicopters for the newly formed helicopter unit is also important.

- The first helicopter has been delivered. The second helicopter should arrive by mid-year, and we will probably receive the third one at the beginning of 2022. Some of our members, specifically members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ), have already graduated from the Military Academy and work in the Ministry of the Interior, but this future cooperation, especially in the field of pilot training, is very important for the future of our helicopter unit and the Ministry of the Interior - says Lukač.

Within the Centre grounds, Minister Stefanović visited the Church of the Holy Archangel Michael, the memorial room, the display of weapons and tactical equipment as well as SAJ’s vehicles, and he also attended a display of skills of some of the units and their members’ physical training.

He also visited the Gendarmerie unit, which has cavalry, service dogs, and a helicopter unit.

The training centre was opened in 2018 on the premises of the former barracks in Zalužani near Banja Luka, and it also houses members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ) and the Department for the Protection of Persons and Facilities, Fight against Organized Crime and Fight against Terrorism and Extremism.

The Training Centre is the Ministry of the Interior’s basic organizational unit established in 2016, whose task is to conduct police training, and provide professional and advanced training to police officers for carrying out special operations.