23.02.2015.

Minister Bratislav Gasic and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on enhancing cooperation

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic had a meeting with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan when they agreed that there is a strong commitment to essential improvement in the already good defence cooperation as well as in the overall bilateral relations. At the meeting, it was pointed out that the two nations are building friendly relations for the next 50 years and that the political relations, which are at the highest level, are an affirmation of this.

Minister Gasic pointed out that the visit of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahjan to our country has made a particular mark on the development of bilateral cooperation, as has his friendship with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, to whom the Sheikh conveyed at the meeting his best regards, as his great friend.

Serbia is a reliable partner to the United Arab Emirates, the defence minister said, adding that this affirms the significance of the strategic partnership between our two countries. Gasic has also proposed setting up of cooperation in new projects of mutual interest, such as technology transfer for the production of ammunition of different calibres, as well as in information security and cyber warfare.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with Serbia so far noting the respectable capacities of the Serbian defence industry and the massive potential for its enhancement.

The United Arab Emirates were offered education and training for the members of the armed forces in military educational institutions in Serbia, use of the capacity of the Regional CBRN Personnel Training Centre in Krusevac and Base South, as well as training for military police and special forces units and cooperation in the field of military medicine and the fight against terrorism. Military-economic, scientific-technical and military-to-military cooperation have been the main areas of cooperation in the past period.

Bratislav Gasic, as the head of the delegation of the Ministry of Defence met with his counterparts and representatives of the armed forces from the region and the world on the sidelines of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference, IDEX 2015 in Abu Dhabi.

In his talks with the Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti they analyzed the results of cooperation in the field of defence and other military and security topics. Gasic noted that by the summit between the Serbian and the Italian governments, the dialogue was raised to the highest level, which led to the signing of a large number of agreements on cooperation in various fields. He emphasized the importance of Italy's support to Serbia’s European path.

Gasic underlined that the priorities of cooperation between the Defence Ministry and the Serbian Armed Forces and the EU in the time to come should comprise participation in EU crisis management operations, development of joint projects with the European Defence Agency and improvement of administrative capacities for more active cooperation within the Common Security and Defence Policy.

When it comes to the cooperation with the European Defence Agency, Gasic expects that it would enhance the interoperability between Serbia and the EU Member Countries, enable strengthening of the local defence industry and boost research potentials of the Serbian institutes and enhance technological modernization of the armed forces.

At the meeting with the Pakistani Minister of Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, the two ministers exchanged views on the cooperation between our two countries in the field of defence, as well as on the ways to improveme it. Gašić Minister accepted the invitation of Minister of defense production to visit Pakistan later this year.

Serbian defense minister has also met with the Chief of Armament Authority of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Major General Abdel Mohsen Al-Shabrawy.

We are pleased with the fact that the Egyptian Defence Ministry has assessed that the development of the bilateral military cooperation is headed in an excellent direction and that it noted that the defence cooperation with Serbia is more developed than that maintained with much bigger and wealthier countries, Gasic said.

During the meeting, the officials discussed strengthening of military economic cooperation in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles, overhaul and modernisation of tanks, combat vehicles and Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters, as well as the overhaul and modernisation of the Air Defence Systems. The plan of Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan for 2014/15 provides for the realisation of a total of 12 activities in Serbia and in Egypt.

The delegation of the Serbian Ministry of Defence also conferred with representatives of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence. It was stated at the meeting that bilateral military cooperation, particularly the military-economic cooperation, has been intensified after the signing of the Agreement on Defence Cooperation in 2011.

It was concluded that there is substantial potential for intensification of military-education and military-medical cooperation and that there is a need for setting up cooperation in the field of intelligence and security sector, having in mind the contemporary trans-national terrorist threats and other current military-political and security challenges in the world.