Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivan Mrkic started today his two-day visit to the Republic of Armenia.

During his visit to the capital Yerevan, Minister Mrkic had separate talks with President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, President of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian.

In the talks with the Armenian top state leadership, views were exchanged regarding the prospects of the development of friendly relations, with an emphasis on the economy, the upcoming Serbian OSCE Chairmanship, issues of Kosovo and Metohija and Nagorno-Karabakh. The President of Armenia extended an invitation to the President of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Tomislav Nikolic, to visit the Republic of Armenia.

The Serbian Foreign Minister pointed out that "Serbia and Armenia have been long-standing friends and it is precisely the groundwork on which to build our future cooperation". Minister Mrkic thanked the Armenian state leadership for their principled position on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.

With the aim of promoting economic cooperation, Serbian and Armenian Heads of Diplomacy signed the Agreement on the avoidance of double taxation.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian assessed that there was the broadest scope for future cooperation in the areas of industry, finance, banking and tourism.

Both Ministers will open tomorrow a Serbian-Armenian Business Forum which will be attended by the trade delegations of the two countries.

Minister Mrkic's audience with Karekin II, Head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is also planned.