03.06.2014.
Cooperation between Serbia and the United Kingdom
Within the fourth inter-agency talks, Miroslav Jovanovic, Assistant Minister for Defence Policy, met today with a delegation of the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom, led by Steve McCarthy, Director for International Security Policy.The Assistant Minister thanked the UK Government for assistance to the Republic of Serbia during the catastrophic floods, primarily through the donation of technical equipment to facilitate the clean-up and restoration process. He pointed out that natural disaster could not be avoided and that in such situations the help of friends and partners is valuable and necessary.
In the follow-up of the interview, the interlocutors were introduced to the priorities of the Government of the
Republic of Serbia, which is ready, in spite of the differences over the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, to develop relations with the United Kingdom in all areas of common interest. He expressed hope that the UK will continue to support the process of the European integration, because the negotiations for the EU accession that have started are essential for Serbia.The current state of relations between the United Kingdom and Serbia in the field of defence represents an efficient part of the overall bilateral relations between the two countries. They expressed pleasure with the intensity and the level of cooperation between the two defence ministries. Although the cooperation is principally conducted through four major projects: security sector reform, public relations, English language learning and cooperation through the NATO Trust Fund, they conveyed satisfaction that the cooperation is qualitatively and quantitatively improved by running activities also in the areas of military medicine, air force, human resources and doctrines, as well as in the field of building integrity.
Steve McCarthy conveyed admiration for the courage and unity of the Serbian people showed during the floods and, given the extent of damage, expressed hope that Serbia will soon, with international assistance, manage to repair the consequences of the disaster. He reiterated the support of the United Kingdom to Serbia's European integration, as well as readiness to find modalities to promote cooperation in the field of security and defence policy of the European Union. He expressed hope that the cooperation in defence and in the future will be intense and that the two defence ministries will use the potentials of bilateral and multilateral activities to promote the cooperation.Considering the number of topics and interest in cooperation in various fields, it was agreed that the next inter-agency talks are held later this year in London.
