15.09.2015.
Minister of Defence visiting Italy
Minister of Defence Bratislav Gasic visited today the NATO Joint Force Command in Naples, where he met with the Commander, Admiral Mark Ferguson. Topics of the meeting were the military cooperation between Serbia and NATO under the aegis of the Partnership for Peace and cooperation between the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR.Both sides agreed that regular high-level meetings contribute to the further strengthening of our cooperation through various mechanisms of the Partnership for Peace Programme. Minister Bratislav Gasic reiterated the commitment of the Republic of Serbia to maintain partnership relations with NATO at the highest level through the Partnership for Peace, as evidenced by this year's adoption of the Individual Partnership Action Plan and the recent ratification of the Status of Forces Agreement PfP SOFA in the National Assembly. As before, cooperation in the future will be based primarily on the need for Serbia to build and maintain the necessary capacities to engage in operations of the UN and the European Union. In this way, our country will, in accordance with the clear foreign policy priority, which is membership in the European Union, contribute to its Common Security and Defence Policy.
Serbia has confirmed its commitment to EU membership, as well as the further development of cooperation with the countries of the region, in the current circumstances of the migrant crisis. During the conversation with Admiral Ferguson, Minister Gasic stressed that our country has shown willingness to take an appropriate share of the burden resulting from the crisis and to share equal responsibility, hoping that in the meantime, a comprehensive settlement of the European Union and the international community will take place.
In relation to the cooperation of the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR, Defence Minister particularly emphasized the importance of not reducing the KFOR forces in the coming period, and particularly praised the professional approach in carrying out the mandate assigned by UN SC Resolution 1244. He believes that the cooperation of Serbian Armed Forces with KFOR is very good at all levels. The cooperation is further enhanced through regular meetings of Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces with the KFOR Commander.Admiral Ferguson is also the Commander of US Naval Forces in Europe and US Naval Forces in Africa. His area of responsibility includes more than 20 million square nautical miles of ocean, including waters along the coasts of Europe and Africa, as well as the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This zone extends across three continents and includes more than 67 percent of the coastline on the Earth, 105 countries and nearly 40 percent of the world population.
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