25.04.2013.
Serbia – United States Defence Consultations
In Washington, 5th Bilateral Defence Consultations between the Republic of Serbia and the United States of America are concluded. Delegation of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia was led by State Secretary Aleksandar Nikolic, while the delegation of the Ministry of Defence of the United States was led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Dr Evelyn Farkas.At the meeting, they exchanged the opinions on the political and security situation in the region, strategic guidelines and foreign policy priorities, and discussed aspects of bilateral military cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the United States, based on the results achieved in the past two years.
The US side particularly emphasized satisfaction by the commitment of the republic of Serbia to increase the involvement of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces in Multinational Operations under the auspices of the UN and the EU and in this regard they praised the ongoing efforts to build capacities for training units for multinational operations in the "South" base.
The Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces were highlighted as an example of how the funds from the approved security programme intended to support the development of the capacities for training and equipping of units for multinational operations are allocated for the right purpose. In this sense, the USA will consider modalities to continue with assistance in equipping and training of the declared units through GPOI (Global Peacekeeping Operations Initiative) funds even beyond the FY 2013.
In line with the priorities of defence cooperation, it was jointly concluded that the US will continue to support and assist the participation of the members of the Serbian Armed Forces in multinational exercises and training. The US side pointed out the positive role and efforts that the Ministry of Defence invests in the further development of regional cooperation in the field of defence, pointing out that in this field of aid they will also support all proposals by our side, such as the organization and implementation of joint exercises in the "South" base with the countries from the region.State Secretary Aleksandar Nikolic stressed the importance of further development and improvement of the quality of future cooperation in the field of defence, particularly having in mind the impact of the financial crisis in the field of defence and the effects that may be reflected in the implementation of the planned activities of bilateral military cooperation.
In accordance with the guidelines from the last meeting between the Defence Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta in December last year, the delegations considered a number of proposals for possible future joint involvement of medical teams in multinational operations.
