Serbia appreciates fully the role of Belarus in the region, including its peace-making initiatives
This statement was made by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dačić, following his meeting with Belarus’ Foreign Minister, Vladimir Makei.
Serbia will assume the presidency of the OSCE in 2015. “We will do our best to establish a good relationship with the Belarusian authorities and to restore and improve significantly relations between Belarus, the European Union and the OSCE member states,” Mr. Dačić commented. He stressed that Belarus and Serbia maintain good political relations. In particular, the sides regularly exchange visits at the highest level and have maintained 20 years of positive diplomatic relations. The Serbian Minister thanked Belarus for their principled position on the territorial integrity of Serbia and for assistance in flood relief efforts in Serbia in May 2014.
The Belarusian Minister, Mr. Makei, noted the symbolism of the visit, timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and Serbia. He commented on the successful nature of the visit saying, “We are satisfied with the recent dynamics of bilateral relations.” Mr. Makei praised the Serbians for their willingness to implement agreements between Belarus and Serbia at the highest level. He considers that the current visit of the Serbian delegation will be significant for the future development of relations between the two countries.
This was the first visit to Belarus by the Head of the Serbian Foreign Ministry. Mr. Dačić viewed it as successful, commenting, “Our countries are connected by friendly relations which we would like to develop further.”
Serbian-Belarusian trade and economic links have been gradually expanding. However, the Serbian Minister agreed with Mr. Makei that the trade turnover of $200m could be improved. Mr. Dačić expressed the desire to achieve a $500m trade turnover between the two countries, and the leaders of the two states have agreed this. He concluded by saying,” This requires great effort and co-ordination in our joint work but I believe that this figure is realistic and achievable.”
By Vladimir Mikheev
