Military Intelligence Agency Day marked
03. 03. 2023
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević attended the ceremony marking the Military Intelligence Agency Day, at the Old General Staff’s Great War Hall today.
The ceremony was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić, Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Lieutenant General Petar Cvetković, members of the collegiums of the Minister of Defence and Chief of the General Staff, MP Igor Bečić, representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and retired members of the Agency.
Minister Vučević congratulated the members of the Military Intelligence Agency on their anniversary and told them to continue defending and protecting national interests.
- I hope you will continue to protect and promote our national interests, the interests of the Republic of Serbia, all its citizens and Serbs in general, and take care of the affairs that fall within your competence and the scope of work of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces – said Minister Vučević.
He said it gave him great pleasure that defence attaches from 27 countries, as well as military representatives of diplomatic missions to the UN, OSCE and NATO, had gathered together at the ceremony for the first time, making the holiday all the more special.
- Exchanging information and experiences, doing reviews and drawing conclusions are necessary for our country, given the environment and circumstances surrounding us. Circumstances are never simple in Serbia or surrounding Serbia. This is nothing new, it is, unfortunately, historical continuity, but I would say that the current events are somewhat more complex, and certainly more challenging - stressed Minister Vučević.
Pointing out the importance of their work, the Minister of Defence recalled the events that had marked the past few years throughout the world, which probably no one could have foreseen, such as the Covid pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
It is particularly unpopular, Minister Vučević said, to be what we proudly claim to be - a neutral state.
- We have no right to give up, we must work as hard as possible, protect our national interests, be wise, "survive in unstable times" as Miloš Obrenović used to say, save the country, save the people, have adequate responses to all challenges, and gain more time to strengthen and to be able to respond to those challenges that cannot be addressed easily or immediately - Minister Vučević said.
The Minister of Defence said he was proud of everything the members of the Military Intelligence Agency had done over the past several decades.
- I am also immensely grateful to all the former members of the Military Intelligence Agency and very proud of the government policy represented and personified by the President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić as the supreme commander, and I call on you, esteemed members of the Military Intelligence Agency, to continue working even harder in the coming period, to fight even more tenaciously for Serbia, for Serbian interests, to continue opening new defence attaché offices and implement your plans. Our opening two new defence attaché offices in Spain and Lebanon is highly commendable - said Minister Vučević.
He pointed out the importance of cooperation between our military missions around the world and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Let me congratulate you once again and reiterate to the members of the Military Intelligence Agency – be honourable and respectful of everyone, but love only Serbia. Long live the Military Intelligence Agency, long live our homeland – Serbia, Minister Vučević said.
According to the director of the Military Intelligence Agency, Major General Zoran Stojković, the circumstances have changed worldwide, they are complex and the most difficult challenges await us as a country. He said that "we must work faster, harder and more efficiently" so that we can all take part in the defence of our vital state and national interests. Welcoming the defence attaché of the Republic of Serbia, the director of the Military Intelligence Agency said that all of them had been carefully selected, that they had been trained at home and abroad, in a wide range of specialties.
- They stand on the front line, defending our country’s security and we can all be proud of them. I would like to thank our top state leadership, primarily the President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Minister of Defence, who have contributed to the rejuvenation and modernization of the Agency and helped us carry out our tasks successfully, General Stojković said, adding that the defence of the interests of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, as well as national and state interests abroad would be the Military Intelligence Agency’s imperative in the future.
The Military Intelligence Agency Day is celebrated on this date in memory of March 5, 1884, when the Decree on the General Staff Profession was passed as part of the reorganization and modernization of the Serbian Army. By this decree, the Foreign Affairs Section was established within the Main General Staff’s Operational Department.
