In his address, Drecun reminded the attending that the strongest, longest-lasting and most resilient to challenges are those friendships whose foundations are built on common interests, and that it is up to Serbia and the US to identify these common interests, to work on their realisation, to create opportunities instead of obstacles and thus improve the partnership. "We should not stop only at common interests, innovative ideas, courage in the search for what connects us, vision, are the elements for a step ahead of the present. This is the path that opens and defines a promising future of partnership and friendship between two countries and peoples," Drecun emphasised. He stressed that every friendship and partnership begins with mutual trust, which, when it exists, makes obstacles easier to overcome. He added that trust is patiently built, but that when there is sincere intention and respect, relations are raised to a higher level. The Head of the PFG also referred to the paradox that the two countries began to build their partnership through cooperation on the military and defence front, although in 1999, in was on the military front, due to NATO aggression against our country, they faced the greatest challenge in the history of Serbian-American relations, and from friends they became enemies. "Once trust is lost, it is very difficult to restore it. The restoration of that well-founded but shaken trust was initiated and led by people who did not want us to remain trapped in war and the past," Drecun explained. He also noted that in order to build a common future, it is necessary to maintain and expand a high level of cooperation on the military and defence front, with the cooperation with the Ohio National Guard being a model that defined the path of that cooperation. He concluded that the strategic dialogue, as the highest form of cooperation between the two countries, will bring new energy and new momentum to bilateral relations, and that today's meeting is one of those momentums.