MEMORANDUMOF UNDERSTANDING ("MOU") BETWEEN THE FOREIGN, COMMONWEALTH & DEVELOPMENT OFFICE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA("Off. Herald of RS - Treaties", No. 4/2025) |
The provisions set out below will govern the roles of the Participants under this MoU. This MoU does not create any legally binding obligations or legal rights between the Participants. The Participants enter into this MoU intending to honour their commitments and will act in good faith at all times.
1. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ("FCDO") and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia ("the Recipient" and together, "the Participants"), desire to further develop the co-operation and consolidate the existing friendly relations between their two countries. The Participants note their continuing shared vision for maintaining the increasing economic and social benefits in the use of a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace, where the same rights people enjoy offline are also protected online, as well as their commitment to strengthening the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance.
2. The Participants recognise the threats posed to prosperity and national security by malicious cyber activity and the importance of raising awareness of these threats. They also acknowledge their common interest in addressing these international challenges and collaborating to strengthen their cyber security.
3. The Participants recognise the benefits of close cooperation between governments, academics and the private sector in sharing expertise, research and working to secure the future of cyberspace internationally.
4. The Participants are entering into this MoU to reflect their mutual intention to cooperate and coordinate with the aim of supporting the Recipient’s activities in cyber security governance.
The Participants will cooperate in the following areas:
1. Develop a joint understanding of the cyber security environment, such as state threats and other hostile and malign actors, while sharing best practices including but not limited to:
- Information on cyber governance and processes and information related to the cyber security of emerging critical technologies;
- Coordination on strengthening the multistakeholder model of internet governance as part of a shared vision for a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace;
- Exchange of best practices in the field of cybersecurity and incident management procedures, digital service security, and supply chain risk management.
2. Specifically, the FCDO, through its International Security Programme will continue to facilitate cybersecurity support to the Recipient up to the end of 24/25. This support will include: the development of secondary legislation and procedures that allow for effective cooperation between relevant actors with clear roles and responsibilities defined; promoting information security of essential and important entities and implementation of cybersecurity risk management measures; promoting better formal and informal cooperation mechanisms between national CERTs and Ministries with a specific focus on incident reporting and information sharing; addressing gaps in law and capacity on the prevention of cyberviolence against women; and improving diversity in the cybersecurity workforce.
Additionally, further support continues to imporve resilience across the private sector through the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) strengthening public private partnerships.
The Participants acknowledge that any commitments made by the FCDO are subject to change at any time based on factors including the availability of future funding of the international security programme.
3. Specifically, the FCDO will also support a number of Fellowships per year on the Western Balkans Cyber Security Fellowship at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Cranfield University. The programme provides fellows with an understanding of policy and legislative approaches in cyber security and its implications for national security, commercial opportunity, crime prevention, and the right to privacy.
Supply Agreements with Third Party Suppliers
1. In meeting its commitments under this MoU, the FCDO may procure goods and services from Third Party Suppliers (referred to as "Supply Agreements").
2. In respect of such Supply Agreements, the FCDO will, in its role as the "Authority":
i. Negotiate the terms of, and enter into, the Supply Agreements;
ii. Pay the relevant charges to the Third Party Supplier;
iii. Consult the Recipient regarding the scope of activities to be delivered under the relevant Supply Agreement and their method of implementation, if necessary;
iv. Provide appropriate information to the Recipient related to the ongoing delivery of a project and the success of its implementation, provided this does not breach any term of the Supply Agreement.
The Recipient will:
i.Cooperate with the FCDO and any Third Party Supplier in settling the Supply Agreement;
ii. Notify the FCDO promptly if it has any complaints or issues in relation to the performance of the Third Party Supplier;
iii. Provide such assistance as the FCDO reasonably requires to enable the FCDO to receive the benefit of the Supply Agreements and to comply with its obligations under the Supply Agreements, including verifying the details of invoices;
iv. Provide appropriate individuals to act as points-of-contact during the delivery of the Supply Agreements.
The Recipient acknowledges that refunds of charges, service credits and delay payments will be payable by the Third Party Supplier to the FCDO in accordance with the relevant Supply Agreement and will not be payable to the Recipient.
3. Supply Agreements will be procured in accordance with, and subject to, English law.
4. Unless otherwise mutually and explicitly provided for and agreed upon in writing, all expenses and costs incurred by each Participant will be borne by that Participant and neither will be required to reimburse the other.
Freedom of Information and Data Protection
5. The Recipient acknowledges that the FCDO is subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679, the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), subordinate legislation and guidance and codes of practice issued by the Information Commissioner and relevant UK Government Departments.
6. The Recipient will assist and co-operate with the FCDO to enable the FCDO to comply with its information disclosure and data protection obligations in respect of the above legislation.
7. The Recipient will retain responsibility for all personal data which is held on its IT systems and other related systems and will provide instructions to any Third Party Supplier in respect of the handling and processing of this data. The FCDO will not be considered to be either a data controller or processor for the purposes of the UK data protection legislation in respect of the data which is held on such IT systems and the FCDO will not have any responsibility or liability in respect of this data.
8. This MoU will come into effect on the date of signature by the Participants and, unless otherwise terminated in accordance with paragraph 9 below, will end on 31 March 2027.
9. Either Participant may terminate this MoU on ninety (90) days’ written notice. Any decision of either Participant regarding termination of this MoU will first be subject to discussion.
10. Subject to the requirements of their domestic legislation, each Participant will maintain in confidence any information received from the other Participant pursuant to this MoU.
11. This MoU may be amended or modified in writing by mutual consent of the Participants from time to time.
12. Any disputes will be resolved through mutual consultations between the Participants and will not be referred to judicial or other third-party settlement, unless the Participants mutually agree to do so.
13. By entering into this MoU, the Participants will maintain their own separate and unique missions and mandates, and their own accountabilities. This MoU will not supersede or interfere in any way with any other agreements or contracts entered into between the Participants (whether binding or non-binding), either prior to or subsequent to the signing of the MoU, unless otherwise stated herein.
14. This MoU and all notices and amendments to it will be prepared and executed in the English language, although they may be translated into Serbian. The English language version of such documents will be the authoritative version in any dispute between the Participants.
The foregoing record represents the understandings reached between the Participants.
Signed in duplicate at Belgrade on 2 nd of April 2025 in English.
For the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
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For the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia. |