First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic received today a farewell call from the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See in Belgrade, Archbishop Orlando Antonini, whose term will end in September.

Minister Dacic thanked Apostolic Nuncio Antonini, at the outset, for his overall engagement during his term of office and for his personal contribution to the promotion of relations between the Holy See and Serbia.

Minister Dacic underlined the importance of the Holy See’s support to Serbia and other Western Balkan countries in their EU integration process and thanked him in particular for the principled position of the Holy See regarding non-recognition of the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and Metohija and the expressed interest in the preservation of the Christian heritage in Kosovo and Metohija.

Nuncio Antonini expressed satisfaction over receiving the Order of the Serbian Flag, 2nd Degree, awarded to him for outstanding merits in the development and strengthening of friendly relations and cooperation between Serbia and the Holy See, which was recently presented to him by President of the Republic of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic.

Both interlocutors noted that the bilateral relations were good and expressed an interest in their further enhancement.