07.09.2012.
Austrian CHOD visits SAF
Austrian Chief of General Staff Gen. Edmund Entacher talked with Serbian Army Chief of general Staf Lieutenant-General Ljubisa Dikovic thus beginning a three-day visit to Serbia.The welcome ceremony to general Entacher and members of his delegation was held in the GS building, where General Dikovic announced talks on bilateral military cooperation, recalling a few "facts" testifying to good relations between the two countries.
Austria is one of the largest investors in our Republic. Over 300 Austrian companies are present in our various sectors, and also, more than 500 soldiers of Austrian Armed Forces are deployed within KFOR, said Chief of General Staff, adding that until now the Austrian army has had excellent military cooperation, which he called "one of the best and most comprehensive that our military has. "Regarding the talks with the Austrian delegation, General Dikovic said that Austria is not a member of NATO, and has plenty of space for sharing experiences on how these countries achieved their operational capabilities and realized the objectives in these circumstances.
We are especially interested in the role of Austria in the security policy and defense structures of the European Union - said the Chief of Staff of the Army of Serbia and announced cooperation, particularly in the area of training and development, military medicine and defence industry.- We will offer our capacities to Armed Forces of the Republic of Austria, in the first place, the centre for training in RCBD, which we are trying to make a regional center, with the support of our guests today – remarked General Dikovic, who confirmed that the Serbian Army sees Austrian forces as a serious partner and that talks that follow touch on a number of areas related to cooperation between the two militaries.
Thanking everyone for the welcome, Austrian CHOD Gen. Edmund Entacher said that he was glad it was able to be Serbia’s guest and that cooperation between the two countries has lasted for the past ten years.
However, the last few years have seen significant progress - said General Entacher reminding that the Serbian Army enjoys great repute in Austria which makes this cooperation even more important.The guest reminded that every march begins with a single step, that is, as he put it – the first one has already been made, as several successful programs of cooperation are already afoot.
- We shall cooperate, as our host said, in RCBD protection, medicine and military exchanges in the field of education and training, both in primary and general staff training, as Serbia has excellent facilities, as Gen. Edmund Entacher explained, adding that there are many areas of interest for cooperation with Serbia and that he was personally pleased that his country could help Serbia on its path to EU.
