Speech delivered by H.E. Mr. Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs at the UN Day event held in Belgrade today:

"Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,

It is my great honour and pleasure to open once again this year's ceremony in observance of United Nations Day in Serbia, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. I would also like to use the occasion to thank the UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia, Ms. Irena Vojáčkova –Sollorano, and the UN Country Team as a whole for the cooperation and support that they and UN specialized agencies have provided to Serbia over the past period, helping us overcome the challenges facing the Republic of Serbia, and more specifically for the prompt and expeditious aid deliveries in the aftermath of the devastating floods of May 2014.

The Republic of Serbia attaches great importance to the work done by the United Nations. It is the most important international organization for Serbia, which was among its founding members after WWII, and whose purposes and principles it fully respects. As a universal international organization, the United Nations plays an indispensable role in the maintenance of global peace and stability and progress of all mankind. Serbia attaches particular importance to the presence and status-neutral activity of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and Metohija (UNMIK) under UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), and all UN agencies, bodies and programmes, particularly having in mind the EU-facilitated dialogue conducted between Belgrade and Pristina.

We are very pleased that the regional conference on the involvement of Western Balkan countries in United Nations peacekeeping operations was held here in Belgrade a few days ago. I would also like to thank the Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Serbia and Head of the United Nations Office in Belgrade (UNOB), Mr. Peter Due for launching this initiative and recognizing Serbia's potential and its readiness both to contribute to, and promote, peace in and beyond the region. The Western Balkans, which used to be a zone for peacekeeping operations, has become a stability-exporting region, as evidenced by Serbia's marked participation in many peace support missions worldwide.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia cooperates with around 20 specialized UN agencies and organizations in many development and political processes and activities of importance for the whole region. A few weeks ago, the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the UN Country Team in Serbia embarked upon consultations on developing a new Serbia-UN Development Assistance and Partnership Framework for the period 2016 to 2020 which should be a true strategic partnership between Serbia and the UN system in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. The new partnership and cooperation programme with UN agencies is important also for the facilitation and promotion of pre-accession negotiations for EU membership of Serbia, as well as for the overall economic and social development of our country in all areas.

As a member of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) from this year, Serbia has actively participated in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and formulation of the Global Development Agenda through the establishment of new Development Goals and targets for the period from 2015 to 2030. The cooperation with the UN Country Team and UN agencies active in the Republic of Serbia in this respect is of the utmost importance. Beside this, Serbia and the UN cooperate on projects aimed at strengthening regional stability and cooperation, addressing the issue of refugees and internally displaced persons, improving the position of vulnerable groups and at mitigating the effects of climate change. We expect to have sustainable outcomes soon at the national level, in cooperation with the UN Country Team, concerning reduced risk of natural disasters.

Serbia has been elected by the UN Development Group to be one of the six countries to take part in consultations on the subject of the relationship of culture and development and the contribution of culture to development, which will allow a diversity of stakeholders to articulate their vision of culture and its integration into the Post-2015 Development Agenda. It is apparent that culture plays a key role both as a driver and enabler for sustainable development. The contribution of culture to poverty reduction, education, gender equality, sustainable cities and urbanization, environment and climate change and inclusion and reconciliation will be examined in the consultations and we believe that culture should permeate the SDGs in a cross-cutting manner.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the year of the 100th anniversary commemoration of the beginning of WWI, the world is faced with new and more complex threats and challenges. We are seriously concerned about the danger of the spreading of the Ebola epidemic that has already claimed thousands of lives in Western Africa. Security challenges in Ukraine, as well as the spill-over of international terrorism into Syria and Iraq, where the threat is being posed by the terrorist organization "Islamic State", require special multilateral approach and effective UN action. Economic volatility in the context of recovery from the global economic crisis, whose consequences are still felt, presents a special problem. Today, the UN is more necessary than ever before, because the role of the world Organization in dealing with the accumulated pressing world's problems is of critical importance. The Republic of Serbia is seeking in the UN framework to make its full contribution to overcoming all these problems.

Finally, I would like to congratulate United Nations Day to our partners in this global organization and to reiterate once again that the Republic of Serbia, as always, will continue to be a credible partner and friend of the United Nations."