15.04.2011.

Slovenian minister of defense Ljubica Jelusic visits Serbia

Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac met today at the House of Guards in Topcider with the Minister of Defence of Slovenia Ljubica Jelusic.

After the meeting the two delegations, Sutanovac said that this was a historic visit because this was the first visit of Minister of Defence of Slovenia to Serbia. He said that cooperation in the field of defense was extremely good and was expected to be even more improved.

- Our bilateral relations have been particularly intensified after my visit to Slovenia - he said, stressing that Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan for this year exceeds the scope of activities which had been planned in previous annual plans.

- Serbia regards it as very important the fact that it has very good cooperation with countries in the region, especially with the countries in former Yugoslavia – as minister observed, thanking Slovenia for the participation of its military contingent within KFOR, primarily because of the safety of non-Albanian population.

Sutanovac said that one of the topics of today’s talks was the possibility of training officers, as would be discussed at the University of Defence of Serbia.
Furthermore, there was talk about the possibility of joint participation in peacekeeping missions since the previous meeting of two ministers, Serbia has increased its participation by taking part in three more missions, and the Slovenian armed forces have extensive experience because thousands of its members were in missions around the world.

Sutanovac stressed that there was great interest of both sides in cooperation in defense industry, because Serbia had in the last year alone concluded very important contracts with foreign countries which has made Serbia as one of the most important positions in the region. He expressed the belief that Slovenian industry can be put into service the development and exports, while also satisfying the needs of both countries in this regard.

- There is also political support to that form of cooperation, and the experts will assess what we can export to other markets, and what we can exchange among themselves, which would employ the capacity of enterprises of defense industry - said the Minister of Defence Dragan Sutanovac.

Minister of Defence of Slovenia Milan Jelusic said she was looking forward to this visit, adding that she also shared the opinion of the Minister Sutanovac regarding the successful cooperation between Serbia and Slovenia in the field of defense. For the previous two years this cooperation had expanded, and today, in a meeting at the University of Defence of Serbia, we expect to open up opportunities for schooling, where we have already sent one candidate from Slovenia to be educated at the University of Defence in Serbia.

She emphasized the support to Serbia’s efforts and the efforts made by the Serbian Army to increase its participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

- We look forward to your efforts in involving the Serbian Armed Forces in the EU peace operations, while Slovenia's military is ready to help and share its experiences in the preparations for those missions that are of civilian and military importance, as minister Jelusic said.

Today we are here to express our satisfaction that Serbia has supported the United Nations Resolution 1325 on women's participation in the armed forces and their contribution to international peace support operations. In Belgrade, one of the most successful conferences on the implementation of the resolution in the region of Southeast Europe has recently been organized, and we know that this issue has been given due consideration during the process of ongoing professionalization- said Jelusic.

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I have great respect for the accomplishments made during professionalization of the Army of Serbia which minister Sutanovac has spoken about, because I know how complicated this was during the professionalization of the Slovenian army in 2003 and 2004, as Ms. Ljubica Jelusic reminded, adding that the Serbian Army’s success in achieving full professionalization in a very short period since the start of the process bespeak of its combat readiness.

Slovenia supports Serbia's inclusion into Euro-Atlantic integration and the various forms of international cooperation, and has invited the representatives of the Serbian Army to participate in the upcoming conference of international association of military mountain rangers and special forces in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, with a Slovenian Brigadier General serving the position of Secretary General of this association.

Minister Jelusic pointed out the important role of Serbia in the security of the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, but, as she said, without Serbia there is no complete or completely safe Europe. Slovenia will continue to support pro-European orientation of Serbia and to provide necessary assistance in the construction and implementation of partnership programs.

She stressed that Slovenia will not downsize its forces in the mission in Kosovo, although KFOR is downsizing its soldiers. Soldiers from Slovenia will be present in the northern part of Kosovo to guarantee peace and security of all citizens.

Minister Jelusic also supported the cooperation in the defense industry, where there is political agreement, where the involved companies should find opportunities for new ventures and shared interests in this cooperation.

Responding to a journalist's question which of Slovenian companies can be engaged in such cooperation, she said that the number involves 10 to 14 companies, primarily from the metals industry, such as the Ravna Steel Works. Sutanovac explained that there was the political support for such cooperation, and concrete forms and economic interest would be considered carefully.

After the meeting with Defense Minister Sutanovac at the House of Guards in Topcider Minister Jelusic met with the Rector of the University Professor of Defense, Major General Miodrag Jeftic, MD