Minister Vučević signs Cooperation Agreement with Institute of History

Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević and the director of the Institute of History Belgrade, Prof. Aleksandar Rastović, signed the Agreement for Scientific and Educational Cooperation in the Rector’s Office at the Defence University.



On that occasion, Minister Vučević said that the Ministry of Defence had started a series of activities aimed at the general public that were not customary for that department.

- Usually, when we say the Ministry of Defence, we think of the Serbian Armed Forces, of arming, of recruitment, of the defence of our country, and those are priority tasks and goals of the Ministry of Defence. On the other hand, the Ministry of Defence has different units, and today we are at the Defence University, which is involved in educational, scientific and research activities. The other day we signed a similar protocol with Matica Srpska in Novi Sad, and today, thanks to Professor Rastović, director of the Institute of History Belgrade, and his associates, we have signed a similar document - said Minister Vučević.
 
In this way, Minister Vučević said, we show that we want to establish a network of all the institutions, establishments and elements of the system that aim to preserve state and national identity, so that we are all part of a single team.



- The Ministry of Defence can get a lot from the Institute of History. Likewise, the Institute can use the human and material resources of the Ministry of Defence - our Military Archive, the Defence University, certain historical materials, the Military Geographical Institute and many other things that are complementary to and in synergy with what the Institute of History does. Therefore, this is not a dead letter, we are quite clear about what we are going to do next year, bearing in mind the approaching jubilee celebrating the Herzegovina uprising (Nevesinje Rifle) and the beginning of the wars of Balkan liberation - Minister Vučević announced.

He also said that the teams from the Historical Institute and the Ministry of Defence would have events defined in advance that would be celebrated on an annual basis.



- We have opened some other topics as well. In some historical periods, we behaved irresponsibly as a state and people and did not use all our knowledge and materials, we did not read what we should have read, we did not hire knowledgeable people to help us understand the geopolitical and political circumstances in the Balkans. Sometimes, unfortunately, it affected us adversely and we suffered negative consequences. We should draw some conclusions from that and we should use the knowledge and people we have in Serbia, who are patriotic and with whom we can consult on certain matters. This way we can understand the historical aspirations of some other nations and countries in this region and why we have some open questions, but also how these open questions could be addressed - said Minister Vučević.

Prof. Rastović expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation agreement he had signed with the Ministry of Defence on behalf of the Institute of History.



- This means a lot to the Institute of History. There are many areas and possibilities for cooperation in our future research work. The Ministry of Defence comprises the Defence University, the Institute for Strategic Research and the Military Archive. The Institute of History records the history of the Serbian people from the early Middle Ages, until the formation of the Yugoslav state, and we are ready to offer professional support as part of this cooperation in certain professional matters, in the organization of joint scientific conferences, and we have already arranged concrete activities for the next year – said Prof. Rastović.
 
He added that the cooperation would include the exchange of researchers and research fellows, participation in expert meetings and in the work of the Defence University itself.
 
- There are great possibilities for cooperation. The Ministry of Defence, which is one of the most important state institutions in the country, will have full professional support of the employees of the Institute of History in the coming period - emphasized Prof. Rastović and thanked Minister Vučević.



This Agreement provides the basis for the joint organization and implementation of domestic and foreign scientific, educational, publishing and other activities, projects and programmes in the fields of science and education, the aim of which is to foster and promote the activities of the two institutions, considering their scientific and educational roles in modern society.
 
The signing of the agreement was attended by State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Nemanja Starović, Rector of the Defence University Brig. Gen. Prof. Boban Đorović, Heads of Offices of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence Žarko Mićin and Brigadier General Goran Momčilović, as well as representatives of the Defence University and the Institute of History.