24.09.2015.

Minister Gasic met with the Ambassador of Germany

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic met today with the new Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Belgrade, Axel Dittmann on cooperation between the two countries and cooperation in the defence field.

The meeting confirmed that political and economic relations between the two countries are extremely good, as evidenced by more frequent meetings at a high level. European integration is a strategic goal of Serbia and we appreciate the support and understanding of Germany in that respect, the Minister of Defence said during the conversation. Gasic and Dittmann also talked about the current migrant crisis.

Gasic pointed out that the Ministry of Defence leads a balanced foreign policy, in line with the proclaimed military neutrality, and work on improving and further developing defence relations with all countries and international organizations. The Defence Minister informed Ambassador Dittmann about the priorities of cooperation of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces with the European Union, and with the deployment of MoD and SAF members in four EU peacekeeping operations. Serbia and Germany are jointly engaged in the EU mission in Mali, which particularly contributes to the promotion of cooperation in the field of defence and has a great military and political significance.

In addition to Norway and Switzerland, Serbia is the only country outside the EU that has signed the Administrative agreement on cooperation with the European Defence Agency, which will allow the strengthening of the domestic defence industry and research potential of Serbian institutes, Gasic said at the meeting. The topic of discussion was also the cooperation with NATO, especially the cooperation of the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR. Defence Minister thanked for the professional engagement of members of the Bundeswehr in KFOR.

In addition to cooperation in multinational operations, the key areas are education and training, military medicine and arms control. The cooperation is also realized in the areas of military law, security policy, public relations, CBRN, human resources management and psychological selection. The Ministry of Defence of Germany, through the program "Help in training and education" provides assistance to our military education. Special attention is dedicated to the improvement of our military medical personnel in the German military medical institutions. Gasic and Dittmann also talked about the possibilities of further development of military economic cooperation, especially with the company "Airbus Group", with the aim of improving the capabilities of the Aeronautical Plant "Moma Stanojlovic" for the status of a regional centre for maintenance of Gazelle helicopters.