Dacic receives head of OSCE mission to Serbia

BELGRADE - Serbian Deputy PM and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic met on Tuesday with the new head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Marcel Pesko to discuss further cooperation and OSCE support in the reform processes and advancement of the capacities of the Serbian police.

"During the meeting, joint activities in the areas of human rights protection and representation of members of national minorities in the police were also discussed," an official statement said.

The parties addressed "future steps in strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of the Interior, which will contribute to greater efficiency of police officers and thus maintain the citizens' trust in this institution."

Dacic noted that, in terms of advancing the years-long partnership between the Interior Ministry and the OSCE Mission to Serbia, it was important that a new mission head had been named after a long period of time.

He said he was confident that stepping up joint activities further would help to strengthen rule of law and security for the citizens of Serbia and the region.

Pesko noted that he was pleased to have been appointed head of the mission and noted that Serbia was an excellent partner for cooperation, as well as an OSCE member state.

"The two officials also highlighted the great importance of cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior and the OSCE Secretariat and the institutions of this organisation, which could be expanded to other areas important for the security of the state and the region in the coming period," the statement also said.