First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic received today Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland Timo Soini and of the Kingdom of Sweden Margot Wallstrom, who are on a joint visit to Serbia.

In a cordial conversation, the Ministers assessed as good the bilateral relations between Serbia, on the one hand, and Finland and Sweden, on the other, noting that their political dialogue was developed. An interest was expressed to further strengthen all forms of bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic field.

Minister Dacic expressed his pleasure that the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Sweden would be observed this year, while the ninetieth anniversary of the diplomatic relations with Finland would be marked the following year.

Foreign Minister Dacic expressed his gratitude to Finland and Sweden for their active support thus far to the European integration of the Republic of Serbia, hoping that it would be continued in the future. He underlined Serbia's particular appreciation of the support and donations received from these two countries through bilateral and development assistance.

The Scandinavian Ministers positively assessed the continuation of comprehensive reforms carried out by the Government of Serbia, and reiterated the readiness of their countries to continue to support the European integration of the Republic of Serbia also in its further process of negotiations with the European Union. They emphasized their commitment to ensure that the enlargement policy remained high on the EU agenda.

Views were also exchanged during the talks on the current situation in the region.