MLO Belgrade  /  Newsroom  /  News Archive  /  2021  /  Serbia and NATO - Partnership for the Future

BELGRADE, June 4 - Council for Strategic Policy organized the Conference dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the partnership between Serbia and NATO entitled "Serbia and NATO - Partnership for the Future”, under the auspices of Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria, which serves as a NATO Contact Point Embassy in Serbia and NATO Military Liaison Office Belgrade.  

Conference opening statements were given by the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Baiba Braže, and Serbian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Nemanja Starović.

Serbia is key to the stability of the Western Balkans, a region of unique importance to NATO

Partnership has yielded many significant results, in many different domains. From civil emergency and preparedness to training Serbian forces for peacekeeping operations. To security sector reform, to scientific cooperation.

Partnership has been the most important tool in setting a new, positive, long-term relationship between NATO and Serbia: It has been a facilitator to the establishment of a trusted political dialogue.

Serbian State Secretary Starović expressed his confidence that this Conference and similar events in the future will provide opportunities for open and constructive discussion on many issues of interest to Serbia, the region and the wider environment as well as opportunity to shed additional light on the essence and scope of Serbia’s partnership with NATO and potential for further improvement. 

After the opening remarks, the conference started, with Acting Assistant Foreign Minister for Security Policy Dijana Ivančić, Chief MLO Belgrade Brigadier General Tommaso Vitale and Bulgarian MFA’s Director of the Security Policy Directorate Assya Davidova as panel participants.

Chief NATO MLO Belgrade, Brigadier General Tommaso Vitale

Today, NATO and Serbia are close partners, fully respecting Serbia’s military neutrality policy - said Chief NATO MLO Belgrade, Tommaso Vitale

“For the past 15 years, we developed our partnership steadily through hard work and dedication, working side by side and day by day on many projects, improving our relations even more, through a mutually beneficial cooperation. Today, I can say that NATO and Serbia are close partners, fully respecting Serbia’s military neutrality policy. I personally think that we can do even more to increase public awareness about the excellent level of cooperation we have developed so far” - said Chief MLO Vitale.

Mrs. Assya Davidova, Director of the Security Policy Directorate of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, Tommaso VItale Chief MLO Belgrade, Mrs. Dijana Ivančić Acting Assistant Minister for Security Policy and moderator Antonela Riha at the Conference

The panel focused on potential perspective of future relations between Serbia and NATO, in a discussion between members of Serbian parliament Zoran Dragišić, university professor Dragan Djukanović, as well as CfSP’s President Dragan Šutanovac.

KFOR Commander, Major General Franco Federici, talked about the role of KFOR in providing a safe and secure environment in Kosovo as well as their interactions with the respective Serbian military and civilian authorities.

KFOR’s cooperation and mutual activities with the Serbian Armed Forces are excellent at all the levels of responsibility, from my level down to the Units on the ground

Serbian Chief of General Staff Mojsilovic with KFOR Commander Federici in Belgrade during COM KFOR's recent visit.