01.04.2014.

Opening of the thematic exhibition "History of the Czech- Serbian military cooperation"

Milos Zeman, President of the Czech Republic, has opened today the exhibition "History of the Czech- Serbian military cooperation" at the Military Museum on Kalemegdan within the official visit to our country. The opening ceremony was attended by Nebojsa Rodic, Minister of Defence with members of the collegium, General Ljubisa Dikovic, Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

Welcoming the audience, the Czech President pointed out that, on this occasion, several dozens of pictures are displayed as an evidence of military cooperation between the then Yugoslav and Czechoslovak armies during the time of the Little Entente alliance.

- In some of the pictures you can see that many Serbian generals wore the highest military decoration of the Czech Republic – Order of the White Lion – President Zeman pointed out indicating that the Little Entente alliance was then formed to deal with one enemy, not predicting that there might emerge another greater enemy in the form of Nazi power, against which no country could fight alone. Speaking about contemporary security challenges, Czech President put a special emphasis on the international terrorism, which should not be underestimated.

He also expressed his pleasure at being able to open the exhibition, which, as he pointed out, is "the memory of humanity, but also what we need most – the brave men".

According to Colonel Ales Knízek, Director of the Prague Military History Institute, Serbian and Czech armies are linked with more then a century long friendship and cooperation, adding that the ancestors of both peoples in the wars that marked the 20th century fought against the same enemy. He also recalled the most important dates when speaking about cooperation between the two countries, adding that the exhibition in the Military Museum in Kalemegdan, reflects exactly that spirit.

Exhibition "History of the Czech- Serbian military cooperation", as Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Mijatovic, the Chief of the Military Museum, pointed out, was created in cooperation of the Military History Institute in Prague and the Military Museum in Belgrade.