First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic met today with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Stef Blok who is paying an official visit to the Republic of Serbia.

Minister Dacic expressed satisfaction with the visit of the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, especially since in the past period there were not many bilateral meetings with this country. Minister Dacic expressed the hope that Serbia and the Netherlands would step up dialogue in the forthcoming period and that he would be glad to welcome the Netherlands Prime Minister in Belgrade. He emphasized that it was of priority importance to Serbia to establish as good relations with the Netherlands as possible, since that country is our important trading partner.
"Over the past eight years most of the investments came from the Netherlands. They have created more than 15,000 jobs in Serbia", Minister Dacic said.

Minister Dacic thanked his Dutch colleague for the support extended to Serbia in connection with its EU integration effort, adding that Serbia was undertaking reforms for the sake of its citizens and not just to fulfil the criteria.

At a press conference, Minister Dacic said that he and Minister Blok also discussed the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina which would be one of the topics with President Vucic as well.
"Serbia seeks to resolve all bilateral problems through dialogue and peacefully. Serbia is committed to a compromise solution with no winners or losers, a solution that would make all our peoples winners," Dacic said.

The Dutch Minister stated that in the opinion of his country Serbia had a lot to offer to the European Union.
"The support of the Netherlands to Serbia on its EU path is important while at the same time we believe that that state has to be ready for accession. That is why we insist that all reforms be carried out and all rules observed. Serbia has done a lot but we expect additional progress in connection with the rule of law, anti-corruption campaign and freedom of the media," Blok said.

Minister Blok noted that the changes undertaken in the Serbian economy had yielded impressive results, stating that this had been reflected in the trade between Serbia and the Netherlands which had increased by 7-10 per cent and currently stood at approximately EUR 700 million.