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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Military base Jug defence ministry’s huge success in 2009

Belgrade, 21 December 2009

Minister of Defence Dragan Sutanovac said yesterday that the Ministry’s greatest success this year was the opening of the Jug (South) military base near Bujanovac, adding that its main goal for 2010 will be the completion of the process of forming a professional army in Serbia.

Author: Fonet

At the press conference where the Ministry of Defence presented its achievements in 2009, Sutanovac said that the military base is already operational, noting that next year it will be fully equipped to become a regional training centre for Serbian and foreign peace missions. The Minister said that public opinion polls show that citizens placed a lot trust in the army, second only to the church, because they believe the army is the least corrupted institution in Serbia. He specified that around 9,500 candidates, of whom 14% were women, applied as professional soldiers in 2009, although the projected number of available jobs was less than 2,400. He added that around 2,100 candidates received jobs.

Sutanovac noted that the Serbian Army currently has around 6,200 professional soldiers, adding that by end-2010 Serbia intends to conclude the introduction of a professional army of 10,600 soldiers.

Next year will be the year of the professional army, the Minister announced, adding that another 4,500 professional soldiers will be hired.

Author: Fonet

Sutanovac said he is pleased that two defence strategies and six laws were adopted this year, which means that legislative reform of the army has been completed. It only remains to adopt accompanying bylaws next year, he added.

As for export deals, 2009 was a record year, the Minister said, noting that in 2010 all factories in the defence sector will have to increase their workload and expand production.

The Minister recalled that a total of 34 professional Serbian soldiers are currently engaged in peacekeeping missions in Chad, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Congo, adding that the Ministry is contemplating Serbia’s participation in the peace mission in Lebanon.

He also said that a number of military exercises were held in 2009, noting that the most important were the Graduate, Sretenje 2009 and the Decisive Speech on Pester.