At the "Western Balkan Security Challenges and Serbia" conference, co-hosted by the Centre for Foreign Policy and the United States Embassy in Belgrade, the keynote remarks made by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic were followed by a panel on the experiences of the Republic of Serbia concerning bilateral defence cooperation with the countries of the European Union and NATO.

The participants of the panel, moderated by Mr Ivan Vejvoda of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, included Ambassador Branimir Filipovic, Acting Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Security Policy, Mr. Thomas Schieb, Ambassador of the Republic of Germany in Belgrade and Chief of Public Relations Department, Captain (N) Petar Boskovic, Head of the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Defence.

Ambassador Filipovic highlighted the importance of bilateral defence cooperation of the Republic of Serbia for the development of overall bilateral relations between the Republic of Serbia and EU and NATO countries, the implementation of the country's foreign and security policy priorities, as well as for Serbia's positioning at the international stage as a reliable partner in facing security challenges and sharing responsibility aimed at reaching and promoting regional, European and global stability.