02.09.2021.
Meeting between Minister Stefanović and United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Jenča
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, met today with the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas of the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, Miroslav Jenča.
At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Stefanović pointed out that the UN is the most important international organization for Serbia, particularly important in terms of preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia, which is our priority. According to him, good cooperation with the UN Office in Belgrade is of key importance, since it is the main communication channel with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and Metohija (UNMIK).The Minister of Defence emphasized that even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Serbia continues to improve cooperation with the UN in the field of multinational operations, contributes to maintaining international peace and security, and pays special attention to the participation of our military medical staff in UN multinational operations.
According to him, the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces have embraced the concept of gender equality as one of their strategic commitments and they will continue to systematically implement measures to increase the representation of women and their equal participation in the realization of all tasks.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Jenča expressed satisfaction with the fact that, even in the difficult Covid-19 situation, Serbia continues to improve cooperation with the UN in the field of multinational operations and actively contributes to the preservation of international peace and security. He particularly highlighted the importance of the participation of members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces in the United Nations missions in Lebanon and the Central African Republic.
According to him, Serbia has significant resources that contribute to peacekeeping capacity building, and in that sense, he singled out our Peacekeeping Operations Centre, certified by the UN, and the Multinational Operations Training Centre at the "South" base.
He pointed out that the UN attaches great importance to the work of UNMIK, especially because it is the guarantor of status-neutrality of the international presence in Kosovo and Metohija on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Jenča commended the efforts of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and pointed out the fact that Serbia has already reached both goals defined by the UN regarding the participation of women as staff officers and military observers, and as part of contingents in multinational operations.
He also said that Serbia has a leading role in the fight against COVID-19 in the region, thanks to the successful vaccination of its citizens, donations of a large number of vaccines and protective medical equipment to neighbouring countries and the creation of conditions for immunization of foreign nationals.
