28.10.2014.
Meeting of Heads of the General Staff of Serbia and Italy
Head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Serbia General Ljubisa Dikovic met today with Head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Italy Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli at the building of the General Staff in Banjica. General Dikovic and Admiral Mantelli discussed the present and future cooperation between the two militaries, current political-security situation in the region and participation in UN and EU multinational operations.
Reminding that Italy is one of the five most important foreign trade partners of the Republic of Serbia and that this also results in military and military economic cooperation, General Dikovic stressed that Italy has given full support to reforms of the Armed Forces of Serbia, adding that the two countries have had a long cooperation in the field of education and staff advancement and joint training.
- The military economic cooperation is rather developed and we will use the opportunity to develop it further in the future and to define new fields of this cooperation – General Dikovic said, adding that, having in mind the significant participation of the Italian Armed Forces in KFOR, he will also discuss the current security situation with Admiral Mantelli.
General Dikovic also stressed the great cooperation with the Armed Forces of Italy in multinational operations, reminding that the teams of Serbia and Italy have worked together in controlling waterways and supply in the Indian Ocean.- There are serious plans for joint deployment in EU and UN multinational operations. We are close to reaching an agreement on deployment of one SAF unit in the formation of the Italian contingent of UN in Lebanon.
General Dikovic and Admiral Mantelli will also discuss Italy’s possibilities and capacities for reparation of certain arms and equipment of our Armed Forces.
Reminding of the history of the two countries, Admiral Mantelli said that Italy and Serbia were sometimes closer and sometimes farther from each other, but that Italy has stood by Serbia in key historical moments.
- Today, we witness a very important moment, because crises, the military and medical ones that are surrounding Europe, trouble us. Italy considers Serbia a factor of stability, not only in the Balkans, but in the Slavic world as well, because of the events in the Ukraine, and in the Islamic world, because of the issues that are present there – Admiral Mantelli said. He stressed that Italy takes part in KFOR formation in Kosovo in order to support civic and social development, adding that they would have not succeeded in that if it had not been for Serbia’s support.- Talks with General Dikovic will open new possibilities for our cooperation, namely in the field of medicine and training of land units, Navy, riverine flotillas, open-sea staff training and training of Air Defence staff. All this will help Serbia on its way to the European Union – said the Head of the General Staff of Italy, the country that is currently chairing the European Council.
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