Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dacic has met with Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelson in Belgrade today.

They agreed that the bilateral relations between the two countries were good but there was scope for their further improvement.

At a joint press conference, the Serbian Foreign Minister said that it was essential to intensify political dialogue, stating that this would be done between the Ministry he was heading and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, as well as that it was necessary to step up dialogue between the other departments in the two countries.

"We want to further strengthen our bilateral relations and our cooperation, and we believe that there is ample room for promoting cooperation and, therefore, it is essential to intensify our political dialogue, meaning that a practice of holding regular political consultations should be established", stressed Minister Dacic.

He thanked Denmark for providing financial assistance for the implementation of the Regional Housing Programme for refugees, and for the assistance to Serbia during the 2014 floods.

"We have had a good defence cooperation", said Minister Dacic, thanking for the donations to the Serbian Ministry of Defence and to the Serbian Armed Forces which have helped improve these two institutions.

He reminded that last year Serbia and Denmark celebrated 100 years since they established diplomatic relations between them. The Minister also pointed out that the cooperation between Serbia and Denmark was reflected further in city-to-city cooperation and cooperation among regions, with prospects for expansion to other segments such as exchange of experiences and cultural cooperation.

The Serbian Foreign Minister thanked Denmark for their support in Serbia's European integration process, saying that we expected further support from them on our European path, and their assistance in having the EU valorise the reform efforts made by Serbia.

"Of course, there are also topics over which we do not agree, and the main issue is without doubt the status of Kosovo, since Denmark recognized Kosovo back in 2008, and now we find ourselves in a situation to try and find common ground along these lines that will take us forward in our bilateral cooperation", said Minister Dacic.

The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs said that his country supported Serbia's European path.

"This visit reflects excellent bilateral relations existing between Serbia and Denmark", stated Minister Samuelson adding that in today's meeting with Minister Dacic they discussed matters of common interest, including the European perspective of Serbia, normalization of the dialogue with Pristina and regional stability.

The Danish Foreign Minister underlined that Denmark encouraged reforms carried out in Serbia, saying that they needed to be continued, and that it was necessary to make progress on the rule of law, freedom of the media and on alignment of Serbia's foreign policy with that of the EU.

He added in conclusion that he also had a number of successful meetings today with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and with European Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimovic.