06.09.2011.

Minister meets with delegations of Non Alligned States

At the sidelines of 50th Ministerial Conference of Non-Aligned Movement Sutanovac Minister met today at the Palace "Serbia" with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Cambodia Namhong Choir and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile Moreno Alfredo Carmelo, Arab Republic of Egypt Mohamed Kamel Amr Ali, the Republic of Indonesia Marty Natalegav, minister of foreign of Malaysia Anifahom Haji Amano and the Republic of Sri Lanka Gamini Peiris Lakshmana.

During his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Cambodia Namhongom Choir , Sutanovac expressed our country’s interest in establishing cooperation in defense, especially in military-economic sphere.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong of Cambodia said that his country was interested in establishing cooperation in the defense with Serbia suggesting that expert meetings in Phnom Penh and Belgrade should be organized, with further areas of cooperation yet to be defined.

At the meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile Alfredo Moreno Carmelo, Sutanovac said that there were good preconditions for the establishing cooperation in defense. Both sides confirmed the importance of developing military-economic cooperation observing that in the last three years the export of armaments and military equipment to Chile had reached a level of about four million USD. Furthermore, the meeting also focused on expanding military-economic cooperation and meetings at the level of military experts, to discuss possibilities for the establishment of scientific-technical, military education and military medical cooperation.
Minister Moreno expressed his interest in establishing bilateral military cooperation supporting the proposal of Minister Sutanovac to initiate the conclusion of the Agreement on Defense Cooperation.

The ministers exchanged opinions and views, in terms of global political and security situation.

AS for the meeting with the Egyptian minister of foreign, Republic of Serbia and the Arab Republic of Egypt have traditionally had good cooperation, with military and economic exchange reaching 2 million USD annually, said Sutanovac in talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Arab Republic of Egypt Mohamed Kamel Amr Ali. He said that after the visits of high officials of Serbia, primarily President Boris Tadic to Egypt in April 2009, the relations between the two countries have been intensifying, including defense cooperation. Serbia focuses on cooperation with states not individuals, not individuals, so it is expected that the established cooperation in defense should continue after the change of the previous regime. Ministry of Defense is interested in further development of cooperation in defense industry, joint research and development projects, production of arms and military equipment, as well as the modernization of military factories in Egypt, said Minister of defense minister. Furthermore, during the talks, the Serbian side offered facilities for education and training.

Minister Amr expressed his satisfaction that the cooperation between the two ministries based on respect, from a position of respect and equal partners. The expectations expressed in he previously agreed Memorandum of Understanding in the field of defense would be signed in the future, after stabilization of the situation in Egypt, as was announced, after the parliamentary and presidential elections.

Further on, Serbian Ministry of Defense is interested in establishing cooperation in defense with the Republic of Sri Lanka, especially in military-economic sphere, said Sutanovac in talks with Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Gamini Peiris Lakshman, reminding that the current trade between our two countries had reached some 1.2 million USD annually in the area. He offered the Ministry of Defence of our capacity for education and training of the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka.

Minister Peiris urged the Serbian defense industry companies to participate in public bids announced by the Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka, voicing his expectations that cooperation between the two ministries extend to other forms of cooperation, especially in the field of military education and training.

In an interview with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia Anif Haji Aman, Sutanovac said that the cooperation between Malaysia and the Republic of Serbia was not at the required level, but there was much room for improvement. Cooperation is mainly carried out on commercial basis, the export products of our defense industry in Malaysia, and the future of bilateral military cooperation can be realized in the field of military education and military medicine.

Minister Aman said that Malaysia is interested in establishing bilateral military cooperation and supports the idea that the Minister Sutanovac was willing to start the process of concluding the Agreement on Defense Cooperation and the exchange of visits at the expert level in order to get a better understanding of the possibilities for improving cooperation.

Defense cooperation between Serbia and Indonesia is mainly carried out through military and economic cooperation but, despite a long tradition, the cooperation is below the desired level, yet Indonesia still has an important position from the point of supply of certain goods and being very competitive in offering good prices, said Sutanovac in conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Marty Natalegavom. He recalled that the trade in defense has raced 5 million USD annually. The Minister said that there is potential for cooperation in military education, military and economic spheres, as well as cooperation in the field of scientific research in the field of combating terrorism, illicit trafficking NGO resources and dual-use goods.

The possibilities for exchanging experiences in the field of participation in multinational operations, and assistance to citizens in emergency situations were also topics of discussion.

At the invitation of the Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Jusgiantor, Sutanovac will visit the Republic of Indonesia next week. During this visit the Agreement on Defense Cooperation is planned to be signed and talks will focus on the possibilities for the improvement and intensification of cooperation in defense. Institutionalization of cooperation in defense, the signing of cooperation agreements, would be the legal framework for its future development

Assistant Minister for Material Resources Ilija Pilipovic had separate meetings with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Le Luong Minh, the Under Secretary of SMEs in the Philippines Jose Brilantesom, Foreign Affair Ministry State Secretary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Viola Adak Onvuiliriey the Ambassador of Kenya in Serbia based in Paris, H.E. E. Salma Ahmed talked about further improvement of bilateral military cooperation.