First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic received today a courtesy call from the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates Mubarak Saeed Al Dhaheri, whose diplomatic mission in the Republic of Serbia commenced by the presentation of his Letters of Credence to President Aleksandar Vucic, on 16 February 2018.
In a cordial conversation, Minister Dacic welcomed the Ambassador and wished him a successful term-of-office, conveying his belief that the Ambassador would maintain the activities on the enhancement of cooperation in all areas of mutual interest, in the footsteps of his predecessor from the UAE, underlining that he could count on his support and that of Serbian institutions.
Minister Dacic expressed his pleasure with the traditionally good bilateral relations and the upward trend in the two countries’ cooperation over the past five years, at both political and economic level. The Minister pointed out that there was room for intensifying bilateral cooperation in the areas of agriculture, defence, energy, civil engineering, and scope for increasing the overall commercial exchange in excess of EUR100 million in 2017.
The Minister said that the number of bilateral agreements signed so far constituted an important legal framework for further development of international relations, in anticipation of the soon finalization and conclusion of new ones. He also said that he expected a positive response from the Emirates regarding the unilaterally abolished visas on the part of Serbia.
The Serbian Foreign Minister flagged up the two countries’ leaders extremely cordial communication, and meetings with his counterpart, who is about to visit Serbia. The Minister informed the Ambassador that the appointment of an experienced diplomat as Serbian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates was in the pipeline, expressing his belief that the Ambassador’s soon assumption of duties would significantly contribute to the further improvement of both bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the Emirates.
Ambassador Al Dhaheri thanked Minister Dacic for the audience, expressing both his wish and the readiness of the United Arab Emirates to build extraordinary bilateral relations with the Republic of Serbia, which were, inter alia, also reflected in the loan with a minimum interest and special facilities granted to Serbia. The Ambassador pointed to the strategic partnership between the two countries, which gave rise to the establishment of Air Serbia – a new airline. He said that his mission would be dedicated to strengthening the overall bilateral cooperation which, regardless of the geographic distance, progressed towards the completion of a joint vision, in the interest of the two countries.
He thanked the diplomatic representatives of Serbia in Abu Dhabi, making a positive assessment of their work and activities. He said that the Emirates had appointed Minister of State Sultan Al Jaber as Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation with the Republic of Serbia and that, in this regard, he expected Serbia to appoint the other Co-Chair, too. Ambassador Al Dhaheri also added that the Emirates had already considered the issue of reciprocal visa abolition, and that Serbia could expect a positive response.