First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic received letters of appreciation from the Federal Republic of Germany, French Republic and the United of Kingdom delivered by Ambassadors Thomas Schieb, Jean-Louis Falconi and Sian MacLeod.

In the letters, Germany, France and the United Kingdom expressed gratitude for the support and cooperation as the whole world experienced a difficult period amid the coronavirus epidemic outbreak.

As they wrote, the gratitude came primarily in response to the excellent coordination, efficiency, availability and goodwill shown by our authorities, as well as successful arrangements for the return of citizens of the three countries to their homes.

It was pointed out that the solidarity that members of the diplomatic corps of these three countries received from the Serbian people was yet another demonstration of the firm friendship existing between our peoples.

It was noted that a crisis of such scope was unprecedented in our lifetime, affecting the whole world over such a short period of time, and continuing to do so, and that the maintenance of constant contact in resolving issues related to the coronavirus crisis played a contributing role in carrying out an extraordinary cooperation between our diplomatic networks.

They stressed in particular that good health and safety of our citizens and communities were a top priority for our states.

Full texts of the letters of appreciation addressed by the Federal Republic of Germany, French Republic and the United of Kingdom are as follows:

Letter of appreciation from the Federal Republic of Germany:

Dear Mr. Minister,

I take this opportunity to thank you and the entire staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, with whom the Embassy has maintained constant contact over the past days, for extraordinary cooperation in efforts to resolve issues related to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Allow me to say that verbal notes and other information on the development of the situation and measures undertaken were always delivered to the Embassy in due time, which, given the current circumstances, allowed the team of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to have the sense of being thoroughly informed and advised on further actions at all times. The same applies to the swift and efficient organization of flights between Belgrade and Berlin or, in the most recent case, between Stuttgart and Belgrade, allowing the citizens of our two countries return to their homes. It is with a feeling of deep gratitude that I can say that there are no more citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany stranded in Serbia in any way. My gratitude for the excellent cooperation also goes to the Covid-19 taskforce set up by your distinguished Ministry, and in particular to Chief of Protocol Dragan Petrovic. I would also like to thank for their most excellent cooperation to all our colleagues on the teams of Ambassador Conic and Ambassador Jankovic in Berlin.

To you and the Ministry you are heading I wish every success in overcoming this difficult crisis. May I underline in particular that Serbia can, of course, continue to count on an unreserved solidarity and support of the European Union and its Member States. I am convinced that the comprehensive support measures launched by the European Union will have a positive effect on the development of the situation in Serbia.

My colleagues from the diplomatic corps and their families all feel at home in Belgrade, as every diplomat could only wish for, and the same is true of my wife and I. In such a time of crisis we owe you a great debt of gratitude for the traditional Serbian hospitality and helpfulness.

Sincerely,
Thomas Schieb

Letter of appreciation from the French Republic:

Mr. Minister,

On behalf of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, H.E. Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, I wish to convey to you deep gratitude of France for the assistance provided by the Serbian Government in repatriating 25 French citizens on an Air Serbia flight, who had been blocked in Serbia following the suspension of international flights amid the Covid-19 epidemic.

For our part, we are glad to have been able to play a contributing role in returning a number of Serbian citizens from Wuhan and Brazil, the latter owing to Air France company. The cooperation in this context involved other European states as well, proving to be mutually beneficial.

I would like to underline the efficiency, availability and goodwill shown by your teams, both in Paris and Belgrade as we executed this task, with our special gratitude to Ms. Mirjana Zivkovic and Mr. Dragan Petrovic.

The solidarity shown is yet another demonstration of the strength characterizing the friendship and strategic partnership existing between our two countries. As the Presidents of Serbia and France noted in their conversation on the phone yesterday, it is only through joint efforts that we will be able to overcome this unprecedented crisis. In the days and months ahead, we will endeavour to provide to Serbia any form of assistance possible in addition to the significant efforts already having been made by the European Union to help the Serbian people address the crisis at both the sanitary and economic levels.

To you and those close to you I wish good health and a lot of courage in your work.

Please accept, Mr. Minister, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Thank you very much!
Jean-Louis Falconi

Letter of appreciation from the United Kingdom:

Dear Minister Dacic,

The past several weeks have certainly been unusual and unprecedented for us. In our lifetime so far, we have not been able to experience a crisis of such scope, so strongly affecting the whole world over such a brief period of time and continuing to do so still.

Good health and safety of our citizens and our communities are the utmost priority for both our states. The well-being of our diplomatic networks and the ability to continue our work unimpededly in order to ensure the discharge of our fundamental duties and provision of basic services are of huge importance for both you and I personally.

In this regard, I wanted to personally thank you and your team for all the support and cooperation during this difficult period. I would like to express my special gratitude to Mr. Dragan Petrovic and Mr. Nikola Nedeljkovic for their assistance in repatriating the British citizens to their home country on an Air Serbia Belgrade - London flight, on 26 March, as well as for the help provided in ensuring a safe return to Belgrade to the key member of my team at the Embassy.

The cooperation and support extended to us in this context by the Serbian Embassy has been of invaluable importance to us. Please convey my message of appreciation to them all.

My gratitude is shared by the entire team of the British Embassy in Belgrade. We highly value the cooperation with your Ministry, looking forward to continuing our close cooperation as we face all the challenges to emerge in the days and weeks ahead.

Kind regards,
Ambassador
Sian MacLeod