A ceremony was held in Vranje to mark the end of the Civilian Training Course for participation in multinational operations, which was attended by Ambassador Branimir Filipovic, Acting Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Aleksandar Zivkovic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, presented on the occasion certificates of successful completion of the training to trainees, in the presence of Ambassador Filipovic, Brigadier General Vladeta Baltic, Deputy Commander of the Land Forces, Brig Gen Slobodan Stope, Commander of the Fourth Brigade of the Land Forces and Mr Robert Kuharski, Head of Security Sector Cooperation, OSCE Mission to Serbia.

The Training Course took place from 26 November to 7 December, which was co-hosted by the Ministry of Defence Directorate for European Integration and Project Management, Peacekeeping Centre of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff and by the Multinational Operations Training Centre in the Base South, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as coordinator of activities in the implementation of the Action Plan for the development of Serbia's civil contribution to EU, OSCE and UN multinational operations adopted by the Serbian Government, and with the support of the Ministry of European Integration and other governmental institutions.

The official launch of the training course began on 26 November at the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff headquarters with the attendance and remarks made by First Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic, Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic, Chief of SAF General Staff Lt Gen Milan Mojsilovic and by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Andrea Oricio.

The Training Course was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Serbian Armed Forces, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of European Integration, Ministry of Government Administration and Local Self-Government and from other state institutions.

Theoretic segment of the course was held at the Peacekeeping Centre in Belgrade, whereas the practical training took place in Kraljevo, where the trainees underwent the field training in SAF vehicles in the South base, with a number of presentations and simulations in order to respond to various situations which might arise during their deployment to peace missions. In addition to trainers from the Serbian Armed Forces and domestic experts, the training course was made possible also thanks to the contributions made by foreign lecturers and trainers coming from the Conflict Prevention Centre based in the OSCE Secretariat Vienna, European External Action Service, Centre for International Peace Operations in Berlin and from Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Italy. Special contribution to this training course and to the overall activities in capacity building for civilian participation in multinational operations was also made by the International and Security Affairs Centre (ISAC) Fund working on a project with the Development Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, as well as in direct cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence and European Integration in this area of relevance for Serbia's foreign policy position.

Speaking on this occasion, at which welcome speeches were given by MoD State Secretary Aleksandar Zivkovic and by the Head of Security Cooperation, OSCE Mission to Serbia, Mr Robert Kuharski, Ambassador Filipovic pointed out that another big step forward was made in the process of capacity building for the participation of civilians in multinational operations, thus strongly contributing to the foreign policy position of Serbia and to its positive image on the international stage. Furthermore, this confirmed the status of our country as an exporter of security and as a reliable partner in sharing responsibility for the maintenance of regional, European and global security. Ambassador Filipovic emphasized in particular that an added value of these activities was success of the joint and coordinated action of several state institutions and of other partners, with full understanding of and commitment to the common goal that we all aspire to with the same intensity and will.