Gasic meets with France's new ambassador to Serbia

BELGRADE - Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic met with France's newly-appointed ambassador to Belgrade, Florence Ferrari, to discuss the good Serbia-France bilateral relations.

"During the meeting, the Minister of Defence welcomed the French Ambassador to Serbia and underlined the ongoing political dialogue at the highest level, which further strengthens bilateral relations between Serbia and France.

Minister Gasic noted that Serbia’s long-term strategic goal is to remain a neutral country, and not be a member of any existing military-political organisations, but that this does not prevent Serbia from developing cooperation with all relevant international actors, especially in the fields of security and defence," the Serbian MoD said in a statement.

"Both sides agreed that defence cooperation is well-developed, reflecting the overall relationship between the two countries founded on a strategic partnership, particularly in the fields of military-economic and military-educational cooperation.

The French Ambassador thanked the Minister of Defence for the opportunity to meet and expressed the belief that bilateral cooperation between the two countries will continue to develop at all levels, with the aim of further strengthening ties between the two nations," it also said.