04.03.2015.

Gasic, Dikovic and Ferguson on Partnership for Peace, KFOR and regional cooperation

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic and the Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic, met in Belgrade with the Commander of Allied Joint Forces Command Naples, Admiral Mark Ferguson. Topics of the meeting were the military cooperation between Serbia and NATO under the auspices of Partnership for Peace, Cooperation of the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR, as well as regional cooperation in the field of defence and security.

Both sides stressed that they were satisfied with the cooperation achieved through programmes and mechanisms of the Partnership for Peace Programme. Minister Bratislav Gasic stressed that the cooperation with NATO should reflect the needs of Serbia which builds necessary capacities for involvement in the UN- and EU-led operations through active participation in PfP. This is how our country, he said, actively contributes to the development of the Common Security and Defence Policy, all in accordance with clear foreign policy priorities such as membership of the European Union.

At the meeting, it was concluded that the adoption of the Individual Partnership Action Plan between Serbia and NATO represents the highest level of cooperation with a Partner state which has not opted for the NATO membership, as well as a clear message that our country wishes to deepen cooperation with NATO, primarily at the political level. By development of the cooperation and dialogue, Serbia wishes to contribute to regional and global stability, Gasic pointed out.

When it comes to the importance of cooperation between the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR, the Defence Minister thanked KFOR on their professional approach in the execution of its mandate assigned to it according to the UNSCR 1244. He stressed that cooperation between the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR was excellent at all levels.

In the discussion with Admiral Ferguson, Minister Gasic pointed out that Serbia is clearly committed to developing and promoting cooperation with the countries in the region, because this cooperation is one of the Serbian foreign policy priorities.