Serbia, Croatia together against natural disasters

BELGRADE - The interior ministers of Serbia and Croatia, Nebojsa Stefanovic and Ranko Ostojic respectively, signed on Tuesday an agreement on bilateral cooperation in the protection against natural and other disasters.

“Our cooperation is very good, and this agreement is a new institutional framework for the two police forces to have even better cooperation,” Stefanovic said at a joint press conference with his Croatian counterpart at the Palace of Serbia.

This agreement allows for the two states to consider certain needs and define responses together in an effort to ensure the highest efficiency in tackling natural disasters, while at the same time spending the least money possible, the Serbian minister said.

He thanked Croatia for the assistance that it provided to Serbia during the severe floods in May, despite the fact that it also faced a flood surge, and noted that special units of the Croatian interior ministry saved lives together with Serbian rescue teams.

Taking into account that the Balkans is being increasingly affected by natural disasters, the police forces of the two countries should step up their cooperation, Stefanovic said.
“This agreement should have been signed long time ago,” Ostojic noted, underlining that the cooperation in the fight against natural disasters is equally important for Serbia and Croatia.

Stefanovic noted that Serbian police have very good cooperation with their colleagues in Croatia, adding that nearly 3,000 pieces of information per year or 10 pieces of information per day are exchanged in relation to various crimes in the territory of the two countries through the relevant center.

The two ministers also discussed other important issues, such as...