On March 7, 2024, Ms. Lisa Sawyer, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, co-chaired the U.S.-Serbia Bilateral Defense Consultations (BDC) with Mr. Nemanja Starović, State Secretary in the Serbian Ministry of Defense. The meeting took place in the Pentagon in Washington, DC.
Participants included Major General John C. Harris Jr., the Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard; Colonel Andrew Mack, Division Chief, Global Partnerships and Security Cooperation, J5/U.S. European Command (USEUCOM); Colonel Corey Shea, U.S. Senior Defense Official and Defense Attache; and representatives from the Joint Staff, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Department of State, the Serbian Ministry of Defense, and the Serbian General Staff.
Participants discussed bilateral security cooperation priorities, including exercises, training, military-to-military engagements, technical cooperation, contributions to global security, and Serbia's longstanding State Partnership Program with the Ohio National Guard. Serbian defense officials provided an update on the deployment of Soldiers to the Multinational Force and Observers mission in the Sinai Peninsula and presented ideas on regional cooperation in the Western Balkans. The United States reaffirmed the importance of EU-facilitated dialogue as the best way to achieve a stable and secure Western Balkans.
