First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic talked on the phone today with Foreign Minister of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis to discuss the situation following the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

Minister Dacic conveyed expressions of solidarity and support to the citizens of Switzerland and his belief that Switzerland would successfully overcome this difficult period.

He informed Minister Cassis about the situation in Serbia and the measures the Serbian Government undertook to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the population, introduced in line with assessments of the World Health Organization, explaining that one of the measures also implied a ban of entry into Serbia applicable to Swiss citizens from the Canton of Ticino which was most heavily affected by the virus.

Minister Dacic expressed hope that Switzerland and the Minister himself, as a medical doctor, would have understanding for these decisions of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, taking into account the risks posed by uncontrolled spread of the virus.

Minister Cassis expressed thanks for the call and for Serbia's support in these difficult times and offered assistance to our country, seeing that it was also faced with this vicious disease as of recent.
He informed Minister Dacic that he was aware of the measures introduced by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and underlined that the fight against the virus called for joint efforts and coordinated activity, asking in this context that the Swiss side be kept up to date with the measures imposed by the Serbian authorities.

Taking into account the large Serbian community living in Switzerland and the upcoming holidays, he wanted to know whether the ban of entry into Serbia also applied to them.

Minister Ivica Dacic informed his Swiss counterpart that the ban was not applicable to Serbian nationals, but that the Government did recommend our citizens living abroad to avoid visits to Serbia as much as they could, particularly if coming from areas most heavily affected by the virus, until the end of the epidemic.

The Ministers agreed to maintain constant contact in order to resolve any potential problems in the implementation of respective measures imposed by the two countries in combating the epidemic.