NATO to hold large exercise in Serbia in October

BELGRADE, (Patria) - An exercise under the auspices of NATO will be held in October in Serbia, writes Belgrade-based Politika, citing information from the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The exercise will be held under the auspices of the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre, a specialized part of the Alliance for responding to natural disasters and technological incidents.

The exercise, titled "Serbia 2018", like similar ones conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, will be held in the areas of Mladenovac and Aranđelovac from October 8 to 11, and the co-organizer of the exercise is the Emergency Situations Sector of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to that sector, the organization of the exercise is currently being prepared, and the number of participating countries will be known after the planning conferences are held.

The upcoming international exercise for managing the consequences of emergencies "Serbia 2018" is a civil exercise that provides an opportunity to practice international cooperation and strengthen the capabilities of teams from different countries to jointly practice a wide range of operations for removing the consequences of emergencies, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs emphasizes.

Members of rescue teams for rubble, detection and decontamination of radiological-chemical-biological substances, water rescue, as well as medical teams will have the opportunity to showcase their skills.

The Serbian Ministry of Defence told Politika that the Serbian Army has not been invited to participate in the exercise yet, but considering that tasks within the scope of the Serbian Army's third mission - assisting the civilian population - will also be practiced, the army's involvement is possible later.

During this year, the Serbian Army, as an observer, will participate in two exercises organized by NATO, and soldiers from Serbia will be engaged in ten more exercises organized by, or in which member countries of this security alliance participate, but not the Alliance itself.