30.09.2015.

Secretary of State opened the meeting of SEEGROUP members

In the House of Guards in Topcider, a meeting of SEEGROUP members was held today, which was

opened by State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Zoran Djordjevic. The aim of the gathering of SEEGROUP is to support the strengthening of regional cooperation in South-Eastern Europe in the field of security and defence.

Djordjevic said that the Ministry of Defence respects the SEEGROUP activities which provide countries of our region with the opportunity to exchange information in the field of security and defence, launch joint projects and initiatives aimed at strengthening stability and security in the region.

- The process of constant improvement of the defence system, to the best able to respond to security threats and challenges, and be in line with the needs and opportunities of our society, occupies an important place in the daily activities of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces. The traditionally high percentage of trust citizens of the Republic of Serbia invest in the defence system in the best way proves that our efforts are recognized. On the international level, we believe that the strengthening of mutual cooperation between states and other subjects of international relations contributes to achieving, maintaining and improving security, not only of the region but also in the broader international community - Djordjevic said and stressed that important objectives and activities of the Ministry of Defence will be presented at today's meeting.

The meeting also included addresses given by Chief of the Strategic Planning Directorate Brigadier General Slobodan Joksimovic, Director of the Directorate for European Integration and Project Management Col. Katarina Strbac, Colonel Sasa Stefanovic from the Joint Operations Command of the Serbian Armed Forces and Lieutenant Colonel Boris Stojkovic and Major Goran Bujisic from the Department for International Military Cooperation.

Topics of today's talks were the defence system reform, the participation of the Ministry of Defence in the process of European integration of the Republic of Serbia, the cooperation of the Serbian Armed Forces with KFOR, the deployment of our members in peacekeeping operations and cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces with NATO through the Partnership for Peace Programme.

South East Europe Security Cooperation Steering Group (SEEGROUP) is the monitoring group for security cooperation in South East Europe, established in October 2000, as part of NATO's South East Europe Initiative (SEEI). Through its activities, SEEGROUP is a forum for promoting regional cooperation and stability in South-Eastern Europe, through dialogue and cooperation with respect for flexibility.