Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic thanked Greece today for its clear, unambiguous and strong support to our European path, emphasizing that our Greek friends and strategic partners were among those who extended the strongest support to Serbia's full membership of the EU.

At a press conference held after the bilateral meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Selakovic pointed out that the bilateral relations between Serbia and Greece were at an extremely high level, stating that the two countries were among the few that increased their trade in goods during the pandemic.

According to Selakovic, Serbia expressed readiness to hold the fourth session of the High-Level Cooperation Council between the two countries when epidemiological conditions permit, and for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to visit Crete, where the opening of an honorary consulate of Serbia was planned.

Minister Selakovic said that he and the Greek Foreign Minister also discussed connectivity and strengthening of transport connections, pointing out that Serbia was completing the high-speed railway from Belgrade to Novi Sad and that construction continued towards the north of the country, namely Subotica and then towards Budapest, and that construction was also planned of a high-speed railway to Nis.

"After that, Serbia is interested in building a southern branch of that railway, which will go through North Macedonia to Greece, more precisely to Thessaloniki and the port of Piraeus. These are strategically important projects for the entire region", the Minister stated.

Selakovic discussed with his Greek counterpart the fact that Serbia is interested in diversification, after the construction of the Balkan and Turk Stream as a strategic source of gas supply, and he said that they also talked about the importance of completing the construction of the interconnector project between Serbia and Bulgaria, which would enable connecting the Serbian market with the Greek port of Alexandroupolis, where from it will also be able to be supplied with gas.

The Serbian minister welcomed the initiative on the need to organize a trilateral meeting between Greece, North Macedonia and Serbia, to discuss projects in the fields of transport, energy and infrastructure.

Minister Selakovic informed his Greek colleague about the initiative to name a street in the Serbian capital after Ioannis Kapodistrias as part of the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek uprising and the renewal of Greek statehood in the modern era.

The Head of Serbian diplomacy took the opportunity to reiterate gratitude to Greece for its strong support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, as well as for its support in finding a sustainable solution to the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.

The Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that his country strongly supported Serbia on its European integration path, stating that it was important for Greece that Serbia became an EU member state as soon as possible.

"That is its natural position", Dendias said, congratulating Serbia and President Aleksandar Vucic on the exceptional vaccination process.

The Head of Greek diplomacy stated that the total Greek investments in Serbia amounted to between EUR 2.5 and 3.5 million and that Greek companies employed approximately 25,000 people, and that there was a desire to increase that number to 100,000, while cooperation, according to the Minister, should also be strengthened in the areas of energy and defense. 

Dendias reminded that he had recently visited Bosnia and Herzegovina, for which, as he said, he also wished a European future, because "we cannot allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a black hole in Europe", as he explained.