First "Conference of Honorary Consuls of Serbia"

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić today welcomed in Belgrade the participants of the first conference of Serbia's honorary consuls, who, as Vučić noted, had come to the gathering at their own expense from all corners of the world.

Following his own and Dačić's addresses, the Prime Minister presented each honorary consul with a state flag, which, according to Vučić, will fly in front of Serbia's honorary consulates.

Vučić said that even before World War I, Serbia had honorary consuls in foreign countries — prominent individuals representing its interests — and that the conference aims to strengthen ties with them and with those countries, enhance Serbia's reputation, and attract foreign investors to Serbia.

"We ask you to help bring in as many investors as possible, because we offer the largest tariff-free market (in the region), we have free trade agreements with countries that together have over a billion inhabitants, and we have a good, educated workforce," Vučić said, adding that investment opportunities in Serbia are better than in other countries because "our taxes don't change every day, and, along with Hungary, we have the lowest VAT in the region."

Vučić thanked the honorary consuls "for gathering assistance in every difficult moment for our country," particularly during last year's floods.

Ivica Dačić said that he had launched the initiative to bring the honorary consuls together, adding that Yugoslavia had 91 honorary consuls, while Serbia currently has 71, of which 19 are in European countries. According to him, they are representatives of the business world, lawyers, cultural figures, and other highly educated, distinguished individuals who have contacts with the leadership of their respective countries.

According to Dačić, steps are planned to improve organization, namely "the creation of an association that would coordinate the work of the honorary consuls."

"It is our duty to coordinate your work much better. We want to familiarize you with the main directions of our foreign and economic policy. We are interested in hearing your observations," Dačić said, pointing out that the presence of honorary consuls is especially important in places where Serbia has no diplomatic representation of its own.

Dačić said that "it isn't so simple to come from Japan, Sri Lanka, or Chile," and expressed hope that gatherings of honorary consuls would become more frequent, "perhaps even a regular practice."

Excerpt from the daily newspaper Novosti, under the headline "70 Honorary Consuls Represent Serbian Interests in 57 Countries"

Serbia's interests around the world are currently represented by as many as 70 honorary consuls, spread across 57 countries. The largest numbers are in Brazil and the United States, with four each, while Italy and Argentina each have three "special" envoys, with Greece soon to follow. For the first time in the history of our diplomacy, they gathered over the weekend at the Conference of Honorary Consuls in Belgrade. Honorary consuls are essentially a kind of lobbyist — volunteers holding a prestigious title. They are not employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, receive no salary, and our country does not issue them diplomatic passports; they have no diplomatic immunity, but Belgrade does provide them with a nameplate bearing Serbia's name and a flag to mark the consulate. Everything else comes out of their own pocket. Diplomatic license plates on their vehicles are the greatest privilege they enjoy on account of their prestigious title. Among other places, Serbia also has honorary consuls in Bangladesh, Gabon, Mongolia, the Dominican Republic, and the Seychelles...