02.02.2012.

Minister Sutanovac meets with the OSCE and UNDP representatives

Minister Sutanovac met with a delegation of the OSCE and UNDP, led by Head of OSCE Mission to Serbia Dimitreos Kypreos and UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia, UNDP William Infante. The meeting was organized for the exchange program recently signed to develop the capacity to manage the conventional ammunition stocks of the Republic of Serbia.

On that occasion, Sutanovac said that, after Serbia had expressed the need to solve the problem of storage and destruction of unusable ammunition, the OSCE and UNDP, which have their offices in Belgrade responded quickly, and as a result the documents signed were exchanged today.

On the basis of the Protocol on Cooperation, OSCE and UNDP will support the 11 million USD worth of project which is envisioned to last for the next five years. Under the project, foreign donors will invest in Serbia in order to develop capacities in the protection and storage of usable ammunition, for capacity development in the TRZ Kragujevac, and destruction of those ammunitions which are no longer of use, which pose a threat to civilian population - said Sutanovac.

Speaking about the importance of the signed document, the Minister stressed that this is a project that is not only important from the point of the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Serbia, but also helps the safety of all citizens, especially those living near military depots.

- What is the importance of the project is evidenced by the fact that we have in the past two months have already received two donor countries, Britain and Spain, and donations were announced and Germany and the Czech Republic. We believe that a large number of countries that are friends and have collaborated with the Ministry of Defence, to make the effort and donate funds to support implementation of the project, the minister said at the end of his address.

Head of OSCE Mission to Serbia Kypreos expressed satisfaction over the signing of the Protocol on cooperation, within which will be running a program that will develop the capacity for storage of conventional ammunition. He added that it is a program that is not purely military already has a very important aspect of civil and significant for the entire population.

Expressing satisfaction at today's exchange recently signed document, the UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia with the UNDP William Infante said that this signals a partnership in addressing storage of ammunition. As stated, this is a very important project for both the citizens of Serbia, and for our Government and the Ministry of Defence, adding that UNDP would continue to contribute to promoting security and stability in Southeast and Central Europe. According to Infante, the role of Serbia in that direction in recent years had significantly advanced, while also establishing new projects and running a number of initiatives to strengthen stability and security in the region.

The meeting was attended by State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Dr. Tanja Miscevic, Assistant Minister for Material Resources Ilija Pilipovic and Deputy Chief of General Staff Maj. Gen. Milan Bjelica.