18.12.2013.
New Year and Christmas reception
The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Serbia Nebojsa Rodic and SAF CHOD , General Ljubisa Diković hosted the evening's traditional reception on the occasion of New Year and Christmas holidays, which was held in the House of Guards in Topcider .Among the many guests , the ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic of Serbia , Tomislav Nikolic , ministers , representatives of the legislative , executive and judicial authorities , military and diplomatic representatives accredited in our country , members of the Ministry of Defence and the Army of Serbia , representatives of religious communities , celebrities from the cultural and public life and media representatives.
Welcoming the guests on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces , Minister Rodic at the beginning of his address highlighted some achievements and priorities of the ministry in the future.
In the last two decades the SAF have gone through a very turbulent period, I would say a painful period of maturing, even self-awareness . The consequences of this internal maturing are visible today, however the efforts we are al investing and which are already yielding results , give us the right, without false modesty, to say that the path of substantial reorganization and overall modernization of the army as a whole , is the only logical and the correct course of development of our armed forces – as minister Rodic remarked recalling historical facts which serve to testify to the fundamental basis of our century-old commitment to freedom , proof of our commitment to peace, tolerance and desire for cooperation with all nations and countries .Rodic said that the Serbian Army has become a valued and respected force ready to respond to the threats and challenges to the security of the Republic of Serbia and its citizens , as well to actively participate in building a collective security system in the region and beyond.
- The place and role of the Army of Serbia can not be viewed in isolation from the whole picture of our society . The changes we aspire to and which are already being realized , affect the Serbian Armed Forces thus directing the focus to priorities, where , in many of these activities, the Serbian Army has a very active and highly respected role - said the defense minister adding that in support of this is the fact that in eight multinational operations of the United Nations and the European Union there are currently 214 members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces deployed.
In the year ahead , according to the minister , the activities will continue to build an efficient and economically viable defense system that adopts the best safety standards are compatible with the environment . Equipping and modernization , education and training, to support the development and improvement of the competitiveness of the defense industry in the domestic and foreign markets , preserving professional standards of members in terms of restricted funding, as well as participation in multinational operations, UN and EU , organizational and structural upgrading of the structure of the Ministry of Defence and the improvement of the normative legal framework of the priorities in the coming year .- We will do everything to make the Serbian Army a respectable military power of the people and the state - said Defense Minister Nebojsa Rodic wishing everyone happy holidays .
