First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic took part today in Geneva in the 69th session of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The opening statement was delivered by the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, while Kristalina Georgieva, the CEO of the World Bank, gave the keynote address.

This year, the regular, annual session is held at a time when the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe has reached certain stillness and, on the other hand, as we await the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees.

The Serbian Foreign Minister was among the first speakers – heads of national delegations, and he delivered his address at the beginning of the session, underscoring the role Serbia had played over the past period of the migrant crisis, its current efforts and challenges, as well as plans, activities and cooperation with the UNHCR in the upcoming period, particularly regarding the remarkably successful Regional Housing Programme.

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First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic was staying in New York this week, where he participated in the 73rd UNGA General Debate as a member of the Serbian delegation.

Minister Dacic assessed that the past week had been very successful from the point of view of Serbian state and national interests.

Summarizing his impressions from the UN General Assembly, the Minister said that in comparison with the previous years, the atmosphere itself was very different with regards to the issues important to Serbia.

The Serbian Foreign Minister had meetings with representatives of around 100 countries, he took part in various side events – the Peace Summit, the Conference dedicated to the global drugs problem, NAM Ministerial Meeting and a dinner with representatives of the European Union.

“From this point of view, I may say that the problems Serbia is faced with regarding its territorial integrity have been met with a far greater understanding, that there is general understanding that the issue of Kosovo has been wrongly perceived over the past ten years and that many countries are prepared to re-examine their decisions, to suspend or annul their earlier decisions, and wish to adopt a status-neutral position as long as the negotiations are ongoing.

We will continue further contacts with the countries that have positively responded to the arguments advanced by us.

On the other hand, it is very interesting that many countries have started to avoid any meetings with “Kosovo’s” representatives, even accidental ones. Some of them have approached the Moroccan Prime Minister, posting on their Facebook page that Morocco had discussed with them the establishment of diplomatic relations, which was immediately dismissed by the Moroccan delegation. Something similar happened with a Minister from Tunisia – his delegation had also released a statement explaining that their meeting boiled down to an accidental encounter in the hallway, and that they had never touched on politics, adding that Tunisia had not changed its position regarding Kosovo and Metohija.

This week was very demanding, we had many meetings and talks with colleagues, people from different continents. This is a good prelude to the task that awaits us – the implementation of everything agreed on here in New York”, Minister Dacic concluded.

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First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic met today in Geneva with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

Minister Dacic thanked the HCR for his constructive collaboration and support and underlined the well-known Serbian remarks concerning the UNHCR status cessation decision for persons displaced from Croatia in 1995.

The UN High Commissioner reiterated that Serbia’s positive, humane and constructive conduct during the refugee and migrant wave had been generally acknowledged and appreciated at the UN Refugee Agency and in international circles.

HCR Grandi accepted the Minister’s proposal to sustain and broaden the scope of the Regional Housing Programme, a striking example of successful cooperation which is in the common interest of all parties involved.

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First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic attended today the ceremony of opening for traffic the remaining section of the Highway “9 January” connecting Banja Luka and Doboj.

Attending the ceremony as Envoy of the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, Minister Dacic said that he was pleased to take part in the ceremony and stressed that the Highway “9 January” was a deeply significant infrastructural project.

The Head of Serbian diplomacy underlined that Serbia, as a guarantor of the Dayton Agreement, supported all the agreements reached by the two entities and three constituent peoples, as well as that it was against the imposition of any solution not reached by consensus.

“Serbia is the guarantor of the Dayton Agreement, it does not meddle in your voting decisions, yet it does meddle when it comes to the further existence of the Republic of Srpska and the rights of the Serbian people living in this area, not only by offering assistance to but also by providing maximum guarantees for it”, Minister Dacic said.

President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Srpska Nedeljko Cubrilovic and many other respectable invitees also attended the ceremony.

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