09.09.2012.

Delivery of Humvee terrain vehicles

First Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Aleksandar Vucic, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Mary Warlick and Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Ljubisa Dikovic attended the handover ceremony of SUVs type Humvee, in the Technical Repair Bureau "Cacak".

It is a 2.9 million USD worth donation of 17 vehicles of the United States to the Serbian Armed Forces. This is a significant help to our army which is in need of modern all-terrain vehicles in order to improve the training of units and soldiers.

On this occasion, Minister Vucic thanked Ambassador Warlick, as well as everyone who has worked so hard to help the Serbian State and Army to get off-road vehicles.

- Most of the vehicles will be assigned to the 31st Battalion of the 3rd Army Brigade in Zajecar, and the other batch to “Jug” military base. We plan to use the vehicle in UN peacekeeping operations around the world - said Minister Vucic, adding that the U.S., when it comes to military cooperation are one of our most important partners, and expressed the hope that they would remain so in the future.

Minister announced that another contingent of vehicles and equipment would soon arrive, noting that in addition to improving relations with other countries, it is necessary to work on improving its own capacity and production.

According to Ambassador Warlick, donations of vehicles and equipment have once again demonstrated the importance of cooperation between the Serbian Armed Forces and US armed forces which is constantly deepening.

- We know that Serbia is trying to strengthen its potential so as to increase participation in peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the UN and the EU. We will assist Serbia in this effort and we are committed to strengthening military cooperation between our countries , in firm belief that these vehicles are a good illustration of this, Ambassador Warlick stated, adding the acquisition of four such vehicles is under way, with this additional assistance reaching the amount of 2 million USD, which would be delivered next year as she said.

Following the visit, Minister Vucic and general Dikovic visited the facilities of TRZ "Cacak".