On Thursday, 6 October 2016, regular political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus at the level of Assistant Ministers were held in Belgrade. The Serbian delegation was headed by Acting Assistant Minister Dragan Momcilovic, and the Belarusian one by Deputy Foreign Minister Elena Kupchina.
Both delegations noted with pleasure the successful development of political and all other forms of cooperation in the past years, also reflected in the regular political dialogue being maintained at high and top levels. At the same time, they underlined that the very good political relations were not matched by an economic cooperation of the same level, even though efforts were made and new modalities explored for its further promotion. Firstly, willingness and an aspiration existed towards expanding the trade to other, more advanced forms of cooperation, primarily in the production of commodities intended not only for markets of the two countries, but other markets as well.
The delegations also considered a wide range of issues concerning cooperation in the frameworks of international organizations, forums and initiatives, agreeing to maintain further the good communication while extending mutual support. The Serbian delegation expressed gratitude for the consistent and principled support of Belarus to the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity, as was also the case in the vote on so-called Kosovo’s bid to join UNESCO.
It was highlighted that mutual cooperation had been expanding and that it, as of today, included not only the Governments and Ministries, but also 22 cities and municipalities across both countries. It was noted that inter-sectoral cooperation between the two Foreign Ministries was also expanding, and that it, in addition to political consultations, covered consultations on consular and international legal affairs as well.
It was agreed in principle to hold the next round of political consultations in Minsk in 2017.