First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic met today with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway Børge Brende.

In the talks, both sides confirmed their belief that the friendly relations between Serbia and Norway would be promoted further. The Norwegian Minister commended the reform process in Serbia and good economic results in particular, expressing hope that Serbia would be an "exporter of stability" to the countries of South-East Europe, where concerns had been raised by recent developments.

Minister Dacic expressed his gratitude for humanitarian and development assistance continuously extended to Serbia by Norway, amounting to over EUR 250 million since the year 2000. Norway's development assistance was of major support to reforms necessary for Serbia's successful European integration, having also sent donations to Serbia in the wake of the severe floods in 2014 as well as in the context of the crisis caused by the influx and transit of refugees from the Middle East.

At the same time, the Head of Serbian diplomacy called for strengthening of economic cooperation, urging Norwegian companies to continue to invest in Serbia.