02.06.2014.

Meeting of Minister of Defence and representative of the United Nations

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic has met today with Irene Vojackova Solorano, Permanent Coordinator of the United Nations (UN) in Serbia and Peter Due, Head of the UN Office in Belgrade.

Minister Gasic thanked for the great help and quick involvement of the UN in solving the problems caused by catastrophic floods in Serbia and informed his interlocutors with the first estimates of the scale of damage to infrastructure and other facilities, in the power and agricultural sectors. “We expect further coordination and cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the UN on this issue. Considering the current situation, any help is welcome”, Minister Gasic said.

He conveyed to his interlocutors the concern of the Government of the Republic of Serbia because of the decision of the interim institutions in Pristina on the formation of the armed forces of Kosovo. “The international presence is seen as the guarantor of security in Kosovo and Metohija, and therefore we follow with concern the current process of downsizing the international forces", Gasic said.

Cooperation of the Ministry of Defence with the UN and its specialized agencies and bodies is of great importance for the continuation of the reform process and the progress of our country towards full membership in the European Union. Deployment of the members of the Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) in the UN multinational operations in this regard is of great importance, the interlocutors assessed.

Currently, there are 205 SAF members engaged in six UN-led multinational operations of the UN. In the course of 2014, it was planned to increase the engagement of SAF in the UN missions. In the coming days, Edmond Mullet, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, will visit Serbia.

The Ministry of Defence assessed the current with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as very successful, particularly in the area of Capacity Development Programme for Conventional Ammunition Stockpile Management for the Republic of Serbia (CASM) and support for the implementation of the National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 – Women, Peace and Security in the Republic of Serbia (2010-2015).