08.03.2015.

Meetings of the Minister of Defence with the commanding officers of the UN and EU missions in the Central African Republic

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic met with EUFOR RCA Force Commander Brigadier General Jean-Marc Bacquet and MINUSCA Force Commander Major General Martin Chomu Tumenta.

In his talks with Bacquet, Gasic pointed out that it was a great honour to be the first defence minister to visit our peacekeepers in the Central African Republic. He specially emphasized the increased involvement of the members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces in the UN and EU peacekeeping missions around the world. This confirms that Serbia has become a significant exporter of security and equal partner in maintaining global peace and security, the Minister of Defence emphasized. The two interlocutors discussed the political and security situation in that country, stressing that the efforts of international organizations will contribute to stabilization, conflict resolution and keeping peace in the Central African Republic.

Gasic particularly emphasized tradition, quality, competence and capabilities of military medical facilities that our country has deployed in various multinational operations. He also stressed that Serbia is the only non-EU country that participates in the Eu

ropean Union mission in Somalia. Gasic emphasized in the discussion the excellent cooperation with the French Republic when it comes to our participation in the EU crisis management operations.

The Serbian Defence Minister thanked Brigadier General Bacquet for good cooperation, professional attitude and support to the members of our four-member medical team. Gasic also visited the EU UCATEX camp where he spoke with members of our medical team in this mission.

The Defence Minister also met with Major General Tumenta in MINUSCA HQ. They discussed about the involvement of MoD and SAF in this mission. Besides two military observers and two staff officers, 68 of our members are deployed in the military deployable medical treatment facility Role 2, which is, after the UN mission in Lebanon, our largest deployment.

Bratislav Gas

ic said that the number of women participating in peacekeeping missions has increased. In the two missions in the Central African Republic there are 23 of our female members engaged.

Major General Tumenta stressed that the medical team of the Serbian Armed Forces is distinguished by its expertise and professionalism. The two interlocutors discussed the work of the Military Hospital in the mission.

After the meeting, Defence Minister visited the Military Hospital and location of the future camp of the SAF contingent in the MINUSCA mission.