19.12.2013.
Minister Rodic received the French ambassador
The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Serbia Nebojsa Rodic and the Ambassador of France in Belgrade Francois Xavier Deniau today discussed the current cooperation between the two countries and cooperation in the defense field .It was pointed out that Serbia and France have traditionally good and friendly relations . It was estimated that the Government of the Republic of Serbia was consistently working to meet the foreign policy priorities in the field of European integration , the strengthening of regional cooperation and the fight against corruption and organized crime .
Minister Rodic stressed that European integration is one of the most important priorities of the Government of the Republic of Serbia on which occasion he thanked France for its support in this process . It was pointed out that the Ministry of Defense is actively involved in the process of European integration , especially in the area of the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union , which contributes to the improvement of Serbian foreign policy positions .The recent signing of a contract with the Administrative European Defence Agency will enhance military and defense capabilities as well as interoperability with European Union member states stressing Serbia’s interest in cooperation with France in joint projects within the European Defence Agency .
Defense cooperation between Serbia and France is intense , the focal area of cooperatipn being education cooperation , joint training and participation in multinational operations under the auspices of the European Union , military economic and scientific-technical cooperation . One of the most important activities in 2013 is Minister Rodic’s participation at an international seminar on the occasion of the jubilee of 100 years of the Great War.It was pointed out that Serbia will continue to actively participate in the operations of the EU crisis management operations Atalanta and EUTM - Somalia . In the area of peacekeeping missions under the auspices of the European Union the most important aspect of co-operation with the Republic of France is taking part in operation ATALANTA in Somalia , especially after an autonomous Serbian Armed Forces team has been deployed for the protection of vessels as part of the World Food Programme.
