15.05.2013.
Bilateral Defence Consultations with Greece
Delegation of the Ministry of Defence, headed by the Chief of Directorate for International Military Cooperation, Brigadier General Ljubomir Nikolic, met in Athens with the head of the Directorate for International Military Cooperation of the General Staff of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic Commodore Alexandros Diakopoulos.
On this occasion, it was noted that the regular bilateral defence consultations confirm a high level of cooperation and understanding between the armed forces of the two countries. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation achieved and the tendency of further qualitative improvement. It was assessed that, in the conditions of restrictive budget, the common task should be to find opportunities to improve interoperability and operational and functional capabilities of the armed forces.Defence cooperation takes place principally in the field of military education, training of officers for participation in multinational operations, participation of the members of the Serbian Armed Forces in the Hellenic Armed Forces exercises as observers, military medicine, as well as cooperation of special and air forces.
During the talks, they particularly emphasized the importance of reciprocity in the implementation of the development of officers at higher levels of education. They discussed the modalities of joint involvement in multinational operations, as well as promoting cooperation between the peace operations centres. The Greek side has expressed special interest in cooperating in the field of CBRN and defence industry.
After the bilateral consultations, Brigadier General Nikolic and Commodore Diakopoulos signed the bilateral military cooperation plan between the two ministries of defence for 2013.
The Delegation of the Ministry of Defence was also received by the Chief of the General Staff of National Defence of Greece, Lieutenant General Georgios Petkos as well as Commandant of the Army Military Academy of the Hellenic Armed Forces, Major General Konstantinos Velegrakis.
