11.12.2015.
Bilateral defence consultations with the Kingdom of Sweden
During the regular bilateral defence consultations in Stockholm, Head of the International Military Cooperation Department, Navy Captain Milan Konjikovac, and Head of the Department for Planning and Defence Policy of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden, Navy Captain Anders Olovsson assessed that the defence cooperation follows a positive trend in the development of the political dialogue between the two countries.They agreed that the activities carried out in 2015 reflect the common interest of the two defence systems, but that there are real opportunities for qualitative improvement of cooperation. They expressed expectations for the future cooperation to take place through military education, military medical, and cooperation in the field of CBRN. It was jointly concluded that the participation in joint exercises should be continued, which contributes to the development of interoperability and improvement of the functional and operational capabilities of the two armies.
Navy Captain Konjikovac briefed about the achievements in the defence reform, the current engagement and plans for future participation in multinational operations, as well as about the activities of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces undertaken in the EU accession process. He pointed out that the Republic of Serbia proved to be a credible partner during its OSCE Presidency, as confirmed by the recent successful organization of the ministerial meeting in Belgrade.
Navy Captain Olovsson presented the concept of cooperation between the Nordic countries in the field of defence, shared the experience from the EU accession process, particularly in the domain of cooperation with the European Defence Agency and engagement within the European Union Battle Groups.The Heads of Departments exchanged views on the political and security situation in the region and the world, especially in light of the current migratory crisis and frequent terrorist attacks, stressing that the complexity of the security situation imposes the need for more intensive cooperation. Special emphasis was put on the comparative analysis of the use of various mechanisms of the Partnership for Peace Programme, as well as the optimum framework of cooperation of the two military neutral countries with NATO.
At the end of the interview, they coordinated the Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan for 2016.
