First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic talked today with the Prime Minister of Hessen Volker Bouffier, who is on a three-day visit to the Republic of Serbia. The Speaker and members of the Hessen State Parliament, as well as Mr. Dragoslav Stepanovic, the former Eintracht Frankfurt FC coach, constituted the Hessian Prime Minister's delegation.

Minister Dacic said that the relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Germany were at a very high level, and that they had been significantly enhanced over the past few years, not only at the political, but also at the economic level. The foreign trade exchange volume reached almost EUR 4 billion, the FRG being one of the largest investors, while German companies in Serbia were hiring over 35,000 employees.

The Serbian Foreign Minister expressed his pleasure at the visit made by Prime Minister of Hessen Volker Bouffier, adding that Hessen was one of the four German federal provinces that account for more than 70% of Serbia's exports to Germany. The Minister emphasized that we were intent on enhancing our cooperation with Hessen, which was the aim of the visit, in the political, economic and cultural fields, adding that Serbian citizens living in this Province also played an important role.

Mr. Volker Bouffier emphasized that he had come to visit Serbia because he wanted to solidify the relations with it, and to discuss increased investment activities on the part of companies from Germany and Hessen. Expressing his belief that the investments would materialize soon, he highlighted the importance of internal reforms and contribution to stability of the region for attracting investments. He believes that the opening of chapters 20 and 26 in Serbia's EU accession process is a very good piece of news and that the admission of the Western Balkans region to the EU is in the mutual interest.