04.11.2014.

Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan with Greece signed

Head of the Department for International Military Cooperation Colonel Milan Konjikovac and Director of the Directorate for Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Greece Commodore Alexandros Diakopulos stated today, during bilateral defence consultations, that the intensive cooperation in the field of defence, which is constantly upgraded, follows the trend of excellent political relations between the two countries. They agreed that the high level of realization of planned activities for 2014 is a result of great planning and clearly stated focus of the cooperation.

Colonel Konjikovac thanked for the continuous support of the Republic of Greece in achieving strategic goals of Serbia’s foreign policy – EU membership, preserving territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo and Metohija and improving regional cooperation. He also stressed that, even with the difficult financial situation in 2014, the quality and quantity of realized activities show that the Republic of Greece is one of the most significant European partners of the Republic of Serbia in the field of defence.

Present cooperation has mostly been exercised through military educational cooperation, joint deployments in multinational operations and joint training of special units. Considering how education is investing into future, and professional and good-quality staff is the prerequisite of development of any society, Colonel Konjikovac stressed that constant advancement of staff is and obligation, and a responsibility of the two defence ministries. New initiatives in BMC Plan for 2015, related to establishing cooperation between the two defence inspectorates and in the fields of military medicine and strategic planning, will create conditions for the present successful cooperation to be further improved in quality and quantity. He stressed the importance of high-level visits for determining strategic guidelines of future cooperation and expressed his hope that the newly appointed Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Greece Nikos Dendias would visit Serbia soon, upon the invite of Minister of Defence Bratislav Gasic.

Commodore Diakopulos pointed out that the cooperation in the field of defence has a constant rising trend and that the Greek side will strive to keep such a trend. Even with the restrictive measures of both countries, the number of realized activities in 2014 is impressive, which gives both sides the hope for the same outcome in the next year, as well. When it comes to high-level visits, he conveyed his belief that the returning visit of the newly appointed Minister of the National Defence of the Republic of Greece would take place soon. He reiterated the readiness of the Republic of Greece to keep supporting the Republic of Serbia on its path to EU integrations and deployments within the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union.

Both sides agreed that Serbia and Greece should continue fostering traditions, especially in the years of marking significant historic dates from the Great War, including visits to monuments and memorials dedicated to the fight for freedom and democracy.

At the end of the meeting, they signed the Plan of Bilateral Military Cooperation for 2015.