First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic attended today the opening ceremony of the Francophonie Summit in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo.
“The Francophonie summit in Madagascar has started today. It is a very important organization, primarily for multilateral activities of Serbia, as it brings together 80 member states, of which 59 permanent members and 21 observers. What is important for us is the presence of a large number of top officials, from President Hollande of France to the President of Vietnam, as well as the Heads of State from a large number of African countries and Foreign Ministers from around the world. This is most important for us because two years ago Kosovo was admitted as an observer in this organization and we find it very important to prevent further recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.
In the past, Serbia was often not even present at such gatherings. I arrived on the same plane with the so-called Foreign Minister Hoxhaj of Kosovo, and the arrival of the so-called President of Kosovo Thaci is expected. This means that they have great expectations for arranging meetings with a number of countries that have not recognized Kosovo.
My main task here will be, first of all, to have bilateral meetings with the countries that can influenced not to change their position of non-recognition, but also, if possible, to have some countries reverse their position in the opposite direction.
Today, I had a series of bilateral meetings. Last night I met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar, who insisted that we come here because Madagascar, as a country that has not recognized Kosovo, is exposed to strong pressures. In the coming days, I expect more than 20 bilateral meetings with my counterparts from around the world”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia in Madagascar today.