Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic met today with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Serbia Raúl Bartolomé Molina.

Minister Selakovic assessed that the relations between Serbia and Spain were very good and friendly and without open issues. He stated that they were characterized by cooperation in all fields, regular political dialogue as well as mutual support on the most important issues.

"I am certain that the successful and constructive cooperation between Serbia and Spain, and our close and friendly relations, will strengthen even further in the future", the Head of Serbian diplomacy said and added that high- and top-level visits would contribute to this end. He expressed an expectation that Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya would visit Serbia this year, as she announced in their recent telephone conversation.

Minister Selakovic thanked for the consistent and continuous support of Spain to Serbia in the European integration process and expressed hope that the EU member states and institutions would continue to support the enlargement policy and keep it high on the agenda.

He expressed special gratitude to Spain for its principled position concerning the unilaterally declared independence of the so-called Kosovo, emphasizing that constant support to Serbia's positions in international organizations was of great importance.

At today's meeting, the collocutors also discussed cooperation between the two countries at the multilateral level, primarily when it comes to mutual support for candidacies in such organizations. Selakovic said that Serbia wished to intensify its economic relations with Spain, while stressing the need to harness all common potentials in order to intensify economic cooperation and increase trade in goods and investments. In this regard, he underlined the importance of organizing the Second Serbia - Spain Business Forum in Madrid in the period ahead, which had been postponed due to the situation amid the corona virus.

Minister Selakovic expressed his condolences following the 20 January explosion in downtown Madrid which resulted in persons being injured and lives lost.

Belgrade,
26 January 2021