01.08.2014.
Meeting of Minister Gasic and the US Secretary of the Navy
Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic met with the US Secretary of the Navy and Head of the US Marine Corps Ray Mabus.During the meeting, it has been stated that the military cooperation between the two states is the most developed part of the overall relations between Serbia and US, and that it needs to be strengthened further, most importantly, through joint exercises and training of members of the armed forces, which would directly improve functional and operational capabilities of the military.
Minister Gasic thanked for the donations given within the programs of FMF (Foreign Military Financing) and GPOI (Global Peacekeeping Operations Initiative) which help equip and modernize the Armed Forces of Serbia.
Considering the financial and expert help of the US to the military base “Jug”, Minister Gasic and Secretary Mabus particularly stressed the recently held exercise “Platinasti Vuk 2014”, during which members of the armed forces of seven countries were trained for participating in multinational operations. Minister Gasic thanked for the participation of the US Marines in the exercise, considering their significant experience in combat.
- The exercise has shown that the “Jug” base has the capacities to become a Regional Center for training units for multinational operations next year. At the moment, 214 members of the Armed Forces of Serbia are deployed in missions, and we expect for our engagement in UN and EU operations to double by the end of the year – Minister Gasic said.The two colleagues underlined military education as one of the most important aspects of the cooperation. Within the IMET Program (International Military Education Program), members of the Serbian Ministry of Defence and SAF are currently studying at all levels of education in the US. US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus stated that the military cooperation had been excellent so far and he thanked for Serbia’s dedication to maintaining a high level of military-military relations with the US. The meeting was attended by US Ambassador in Belgrade Michael Kirby.
