14.03.2013.
Cooperation between Serbia and the Great Britain
Assistant Minister for Defence Policy Miroslav Jovanovic had disuccions with the delegation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland led by the Director General for Security Policy in the UK MoD, Steve McCarthy, within the framework of holding other inter-departmental talks. The meeting was also attended by a delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia.Both sides expressed satisfaction with the achieved level of bilateral military cooperation and the tendency of further improvement. It was stated that regular inter-departmental talks are a confirmation of the high level of understanding between the two countries.
Assistant Minister for Defence Policy Miroslav Jovanovic praised the organization of the first official visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Aleksandar Vucic to London, from 6 to 7 March 2013, and conveyed the satisfaction with the arrangements made. He said that it is the right time to operationalize the political agreements reached.
Jovanovic thanked for the assistance continuously provided by the British side to the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia in defence reform and the achievement of interoperability levels. He conveyed the key foreign policy positions of Serbia noting that Serbia is making every effort to meet all the necessary conditions for joining the European Union, but without compromising the national and state interests. The Assistant Minister briefed his interlocutors with the achieved level of defence reform and plans for the forthcoming period.
Ratification and entry into force of the Agreement on security procedures and the Agreement between the EU and the Republic of Serbia establishing a framework for the participation of our country in the EU crisis management operations together with the adoption of the Law on the Employment of the Serbian Armed Forces and other Defence Forces in Multinational Operations outside the borders of the Republic of Serbia rounded out the legal framework and facilitated participation in activities in the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
Director General McCarthy confirmed the success of talks between the two defence ministers and stressed the importance of promoting overall relations between the two countries, with emphasis on bilateral military cooperation. He said that the UK MoD expects further improvement in the possibility of the involvement of the civilian structures of the Republic of Serbia in multinational operations. London's goal is to provide interoperability of the Serbian Armed Forces.McCarthy conveyed the readiness of the British side to find modalities for a possible improvement of future cooperation within the Partnership for Peace, the Common Security and Defense Policy concept and the European Defence Agency initiative for building the EU defense capacities (Pooling and Sharing). The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom are prepared, in accordance with the objective capabilities, to provide support to SAF in training and equipping, according to the needs of our side, and within the military-educational cooperation.
Having in mind a number of topics and interest in cooperation in various fields, the British side invited the inter-departmental team of Serbia to visit London in the soonest possible time.
