First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic met today Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Guo Shaochun.

In today's meeting, the two sides expressed their expectation that the consular relations would continue to keep up with and assist the development trend in the two countries' political and economic cooperation.

It was noted that the Agreement on mutual visa exemption between the two countries for holders of ordinary passports, which came into force on 15 January 2017, was another confirmation of the strategic relations between the Republic of Serbia and the People's Republic of China, and that it created opportunities for further enhancement of all forms of the existing cooperation, and development of new ones.

Apart from the meeting that the delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China had with the Serbian Foreign Minister, the Ministry also hosted consular consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, at the level of Assistant Ministers for Consular Affairs.

The practice of holding alternatively annual consular consultations with the aim of further enhancement of cooperation and regular exchange of experiences in the consular area, especially when it comes to providing consular assistance to citizens in emergencies and extraordinary circumstances, has been established. The interlocutors noted the need of focusing on modernization of consular work and constant quality improvement of consular protection and services. On the occasion, the parties positively assessed the consular relations and cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the People's Republic of China.

The consular consultations were substantive and evolved in the spirit of friendly relations. Both sides expressed their readiness to further promote consular cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the People's Republic of China.