First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic met today in New Delhi with his host, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India.

In the talks, the officials expressed mutual pleasure with the decades-long traditional friendly relations and understanding between the two countries, particularly in the year marking the 70th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Both sides conveyed readiness for the intensification of bilateral high and top-level political dialogue, as well as for the promotion of cooperation in all areas of mutual interest, particularly in the economy. It was noted that there was room for improvement of cooperation in the fields of automotive, tractor, agriculture and food industries, IT sector, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation, film, tourism and sports.

Minister Dacic extended an invitation to the Republic of India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to visit the Republic of Serbia, which she accepted with pleasure.

Furthermore, both sides pleased with the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Culture, Art, Youth, Sports and the Mass Media.

On this occasion, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia conveyed to Minister Swaraj the gratitude of the Serbian Government and people for India’s support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia and for its non-recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of “Kosovo”, also expressing his belief that India would maintain this position in the future as well.

Minister Sushma Swaraj underlined that India did not perceive countries as big or small, and that it instead only valued if they were friendly or not, emphasizing that Serbia most certainly was a friendly country.

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First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic, who is on an official visit to the Republic of India, expressed his satisfaction with the visit, underlining that the relations between Serbia and India had been traditionally good, and characterized by a high level of friendship and cooperation.

“This was a highly successful visit to India, our traditional friend and partner.

Unfortunately, this was the first visit by a Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia in the last ten years. We have neglected our ties with traditional friends, which has had a significant impact on the issue of major importance to us, that of Kosovo.
I am pleased to note that we have fully revitalized our relations with India over the past few years. President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic visited India as Prime Minister, where he participated in a business conference. According to our expectations, the Vice Premier of India will visit Belgrade, in September. My visit is an introduction to further strengthening the bonds between our countries.

India is our global political partner, in respect of its size and power. We are grateful for its strong, principled and unchanged position regarding the issue of Kosovo. We support India’s candidatures on the foreign policy level.

I would like to assess that our economic cooperation is developing successfully, that our trade, which totalled 200 million dollars in the previous year, can be improved, and that we are working on the enhancement of our economic relations.
Many Indian companies wish to come to Serbia and there are many areas where our cooperation can be successful, such as the car industry, agriculture, IT and other areas.

We have waved a visa requirement for Indian nationals wishing to visit Serbia. India decided to introduce electronic visas, practically meaning that they too have abolished visas for Serbian nationals.

We are looking forward to the visit of the Vice Premier of India, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as the visit of the granddaughter of Mahatma Ghandi – Tara Ghandi, whom I met yesterday.

The support of India is very important to us, and these visits are extremely important also for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as we are strengthening our cooperation with our traditional friends.

Tomorrow, I will be continuing my tour in Nepal and then to Sri Lanka. It is my expectation that these three countries are firm in their positions regarding our friendly relations”, stated Minister Dacic after today’s meetings in New Delhi.

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