30.01.2013.
State Secretary Nikolic meets with defence minister of Cyprus Eliades
State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Aleksandar Nikolic met with the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Eliades as part of the First Summit of the government of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Cyprus.
Noting the historical closeness, friendship and traditionally good relations between Serbia and Cyprus, they agreed that the first summit between the two countries is a confirmation of such relationships, and continuation of intensive dialogue at the highest level. Both sides confirmed that the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty is a matter of principle and international law, and in that sense both sides reiterated their strong opinions.State Secretary Nikolic thanked Minister Eliades for the Republic of Cyprus’s sincere support to Serbia in achieving the main goal of the foreign policy of the Republic of Serbia - EU membership.
The legal framework for cooperation in the field of defense is the signing the defense cooperation agreement for 2010. The level of realization of planned activities is the best indicator of properly set priorities on both sides. In this regard, it was agreed that the bilateral military cooperation plan for 2013 should to be signed in the first quarter of this year.
The two officials stressed that the bilateral military cooperation was good, but there is room for improvement. Military economic cooperation, as well as the main areas of cooperation in the future can be improved through the destruction of surplus ammunition and repair of armored combat vehicles. From the standpoint of improving the operational and functional capabilities of the Army of Serbia, it is important to improve cooperation of special and engineering units, The MoD has offered its facilities in military educational institutions for different levels of schooling to the Cypriot side.
Minister Eliades met with the Cypriot interlocutor view of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East in connection with the exploitation of energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Syrian crisis. Also, the minister summed up the results of the Cypriot presidency of the EU Council.To the mutual satisfaction both sides highlighted the importance of continuing involvement of our members in a multinational United Nations operation in Cyprus.
At the end of the meeting they expressed the hope that the Serbia - Cyprus summit is an incentive to promote defense cooperation and harmonization of overall relations between the two countries. In this sense, it was proposed that high-level meetings be continued, to exchange views and define strategic guidelines for future cooperation.
During the visit of the delegation of Cyprus government, the Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic met with the President of Cyprus Dimitris Christofias. After meeting the President of Serbia awarded the Order of the Republic of Serbia to his Cypriot counterpart, and Christofias awarded Nikolic with a Great medal of Makarius order.
Held the first Serbian-Cypriot Summit at the Palace of Serbia chaired by the President of Cyprus and the prime minister of Serbia, Ivica Dacic. During the summit Dacic and Christofias signed a memorandum of understanding between the governments of Serbia and Cyprus on establishing improved partnership.
