27.04.2015.
Intensive cooperation in the field of defence with the Republic of France
Cooperation in the field of defence between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of France is developed and intensive, but there are possibilities for its qualitative and quantitative improvement in the fields of mutual interest, it was stated today during the meting at the Ministry of Defence between Chief of the International Military Cooperation Department Battleship Captain Milan Konjikovac and defence attaché of the Republic of France in Belgrade Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Rouanet.
The interlocutors agreed that, for many years, the cooperation had been focused on the fields of military education, military-economical and scientific technical cooperation, and that the quality of cooperation was significantly improved by joint activities in training and deployment in multinational operations.Battleship Captain Konjikovac stressed that the strategic partnership between the two countries dated since 2011 and that joint deployment in multinational operations was the pinnacle of cooperation in the field of defence. He expressed his belief that Serbia is the guarantor of peace in the region, and restated Serbia’s clear dedication to improvement of peace and security, not only in this part of Europe, but also on a global level, through its OSCE chairmanship and active participation in UN and EU multinational operations. Battleship Captain Konjikovac once again thanked for the logistic support in the French military base in Djibouti for the members of our team for ship protection and expressed his belief that the cooperation with the French side would soon continue in the EU mission in the Central African Republic - EUMAM RCA as well. He introduced his interlocutor with the priorities of cooperation with EU and cooperation mechanisms within the Partnership for Peace Program.
Lieutenant Colonel Rouanet stated that the scope of the military economic cooperation should be expanded in the future period, in accordance with the needs of the two defence systems and objective capabilities. He said that French companies are interested in discovering cooperation modalities, particularly for participation in public announcements for procurement and overhaul of reserve parts, and aircraft modernization.
Both sides stated that the meeting of ministerial level would significantly contribute to determining further directions of cooperation in the field of defence.
At the end of the meeting, the Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan for 2015 was signed.
