First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic visited CIA headquarters in Washington and talked with CIA representatives about the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

Dacic delivered a lecture at the National Defence University on the subject “Serbia – Security in the Western Balkans and Organised Crime”.

Serbia’s police and military are making valuable contributions to the preservation of peace and security in the world by acting in partnership with the international community, said Dacic.

Dacic said that Serbia was successfully fighting against crime and corruption.

Terrorism, organised crime and corruption are big threats to society, said Dacic.

If we look at the social consequences of corruption, we see that they too pose a threat to national security. The belief that everything may be bought and sold is fatal for society, said the Minister.

Dacic stressed that Serbia had just started its fight against corruption and that the Serbian police had made several arrests on corruption charges during the past five years.

Dacic recalled that Serbia passed new laws governing the area, strategies for their implementation and action plans, as well as regulations on the registration of properties and incomes of those engaged in public affairs.

He noted that the Law on seizure of property acquired through crime and corruption has also been adopted.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed the expectation that revenue for the state budget from this field will amount to several hundred millions of euros in the first year, while this figure may reach more than a billion euros in future.

For every criminal, going to jail is not the biggest punishment, however confiscation of their property certainly is, said Dacic, who will continue his visit to the United States by meeting with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).