Speaking at the international roundtable "Serbian-American Relations", organized by Serbia-USA Parliamentary Friendship Group of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Institute for National and International Security, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic underlined that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of the Republic of Serbia will continue to welcome the initiatives aiming to ensure a better mutual understanding as a starting point for further strengthening of Serbia-U.S. bilateral relations.

In opening his statement, the Minister proposed that all present observe a moment of silence and pay respects to the victims who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks against the USA, 19 years ago on this very date.

"This is an opportunity to recall that in view of extensive loss of life and material damage, the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack against the USA was one of the most tragic events of all time which shook the planet to the core and left major consequences", the Minister said.

Minister Ivica Dacic continued by emphasizing that shared history and closeness between our two nations in almost 140 year-long diplomatic history represent a special bond and good basis for further development of relations with the US, since we stood at the same side of history in many crucial moments, such us in the First and Second World Wars when we fought side by side.

"This time again I am proud to note the significance of all joint activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary since the day the Serbian flag was flown over the White House in 1918, both in Belgrade and Washington D.C. in 2018", Foreign Minister Dacic said.

Speaking of challenges, Ivica Dacic pointed out that the issue of the status of Kosovo and Metohija and the unilateral declaration of independence by Pristina are still major points of disagreement with the United States.

"However, even though we do not agree on this issue of vital importance to Serbia, our country highly appreciates the continued and strong support extended by Washington to the talks between Belgrade and Pristina. This support was best demonstrated last week when President Aleksandar Vucic paid a successful visit to Washington, D.C. at the invitation of Ambassador Grenell and U.S. President National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, and met with U.S. top officials as well as with the delegation of Pristina", Dacic said.

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister took the opportunity to note that there is a whole set of areas where the interests of our countries are in full alignment.

"I would like to underline in particular the strategic orientation of Serbia towards full membership of the European Union, for which we enjoy a constant and firm support of our American partners. Regional cooperation as well as bilateral cooperation with the United States continues also on challenges in connection with migrant crisis, combating organized crime and international terrorism. I would particularly like to highlight the state partnership programme between Serbia and the Ohio National Guard. From strictly military this cooperation is gradually expanding to civilian cooperation as well", the Minister said.

Finally, the Minister said that we should not forget the importance of Serbian diaspora in the United States – outstanding figures like Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin who brought Serbia and the United States closer together while their scientific achievements in addition to bringing our peoples together made an immeasurable contribution to mankind.



Full statement by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic is as follows:

"Excellency,
Distinguished fellow Ministers,
Esteemed hosts and participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my great honor to have an opportunity to address you at this international roundtable "Serbian-American Relations", co-hosted by the Serbia-USA Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Institute for National and International Security. I take this opportunity to thank our hosts who initiated and organized this event for inviting me and also express gratitude to the representatives of the National Assembly for their warm welcome.

First of all, I propose that we observe a moment of silence and pay respects to the victims who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks against the USA, 19 years ago on this very date. This is an opportunity to recall that in view of extensive loss of life and material damage, the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack against the USA was one of the most tragic events of all time which shook the planet to the core and left major consequences. This event is a reminder of the importance of the values of freedom, security and peace, and of the imperative to preserve them through solidarity and cooperation at the global level.

Today's event is held in circumstances that are unique in many ways, in that it takes place against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic, whose full impact is yet unknown, and the fact that this an election year in both our countries which has a major impact on the internal political dynamic in Serbia as well as in the United States.

These very circumstances make today's conference a good and timely step and, regardless of the current challenges and ongoing processes, a positive signal of a clear commitment and readiness of our two countries and peoples to continue working on the promotion of their comprehensive and bilateral relations, which have a long history.

I take this opportunity as well to clearly state that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our Government will continue to welcome the initiatives aiming to ensure a better mutual understanding as a starting point for further strengthening of Serbia-U.S. bilateral relations.

Looking back at the previous period, I am pleased to note that the political dialogue has been intensified in recent years at all levels and across many areas. Still, when it comes to top-level visits by U.S. officials to Serbia, I believe that we have to continue to work hard with our American partners in view of the fact that the last U.S. President to visit Serbia was Jimmy Carter way back in June of 1980. As anyone could see, President Trump announced that he could visit Serbia at the invitation of President Vucic in the near future, which could certainly boost the development of our cooperation.

Shared history and closeness between our two nations in almost 140 year-long diplomatic history represent a special bond and good basis for further development of relations with the US, since we stood at the same side of history in many crucial moments, such us in the First and Second World Wars when we fought side by side.

This time again I am proud to note the significance of all joint activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary since the day the Serbian flag was flown over the White House in 1918, both in Belgrade and Washington D.C. in 2018.
As for our alliance in the Second World War, I would like to recall Operation Halyard, also known as Operation Air Bridge as the most extensive mission of its kind in occupied Europe, when around 500 U.S. downed airmen and staff were rescued. This operation, a paradigm of our relations, was shrouded in secrecy for decades.

Furthermore, even at the time of the Cold War divisions, we maintained and fostered special relations and even the ideological differences could not impair much the friendly and goodhearted sentiments between our two peoples.
Even though the break-up of former Yugoslavia and the following years, especially in the end of the 20th century, have been a complex and often very difficult period in our relations, I am still an optimist since the challenges ahead compel us to be committed to constant and ever more open dialogue, in order to identify common interests as a realistic and healthy basis for further strengthening and development of relations.

Speaking of challenges, I have to point out that the issue of the status of Kosovo and Metohija and the unilateral declaration of independence by Pristina are still major points of disagreement with the United States.

However, even though we do not agree on this issue of vital importance to Serbia, our country highly appreciates the continued and strong support extended by Washington to the talks between Belgrade and Pristina.

This support was best demonstrated last week when President Aleksandar Vucic paid a successful visit to Washington, D.C. at the invitation of Ambassador Grenell and U.S. President National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, and met with U.S. top officials as well as with the delegation of Pristina.

On this occasion, in the White House, President Vucic reached a highly important agreement with the United States on the normalization of economic relations between Belgrade and Pristina. This agreement opened new opportunities for cooperation with Pristina. As for cooperation with the United States, I would like to underline that it was agreed to open an office of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation in Belgrade, the only in the region, giving our relations a new and highly important quality. No doubt, it will send a clear signal to both U.S. and European credit agencies and investors to invest in our country and facilitate strengthening of overall economic cooperation and trade.

During the visit, President Vucic had a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. They discussed the issues in connection with the promotion of bilateral and economic relations between the two countries. As I said earlier, President Trump expressed his readiness to visit Serbia which is a very important political message.

Serbia remains fully open to further talks with Pristina, considering the United States and the EU as key partners in the process towards reaching a lasting and sustainable solution, acceptable to both sides.

Ladies and gentlemen,

There is a whole set of areas where the interests of our countries are in full alignment. I would like to underline in particular the strategic orientation of Serbia towards full membership of the European Union, for which we enjoy a constant and firm support of our American partners.

Regional cooperation as well as bilateral cooperation with the United States continues also on challenges in connection with migrant crisis, combating organized crime and international terrorism. I would particularly like to highlight the state partnership programme between Serbia and the Ohio National Guard. From strictly military this cooperation is gradually expanding to civilian cooperation as well.

We are grateful to the United States for the understanding and assistance extended to us in terms of regional cooperation and in particular to the initiatives such as "mini-Schengen", designed to benefit the entire region.

Solidarity and mutual understanding during the current COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed the friendly bilateral relations with the United States. For its part, Serbia assisted the evacuation of several dozen US citizens by organizing two flights - to Los Angeles and Washington D.C. while the USA helped us with many donations for which we are very thankful.

We would like the economic cooperation to be further strengthened because it regrettably does not correspond to the actual possibilities. Although commodity exchange has been on the increase over the past years, this is an issue which we shall continue to be fully engaged in. Our goal is to create a favorable business environment which would enable us, once the current health crisis is over, to jointly work on strengthening economic cooperation and investment to which recent President Vucic's visit to Washington will surely give an impetus.

Areas like information technologies, energy and mining, agriculture and other forms of cooperation and projects, like sister-city initiatives, university cooperation, tourism, connecting small and medium size businesses and chambers of commerce are also important fields of cooperation which require more dedication in the future.

Finally, we should not forget the importance of Serbian diaspora in the United States – outstanding figures like Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin who brought Serbia and the United States closer together while their scientific achievements in addition to bringing our peoples together made an immeasurable contribution to mankind. In addition to Tesla and Pupin, there are other notable American Serbs like George Fisher (aka Djordje Sagic) who travelled to America 200 years ago as a Serbian rebel and took part in the "Texas revolution". We should also mention Karl Malden, Pete Maravic, George Vojnovic, Hellen Delic Bentley, Peter Bogdanovich, Steve Tesic and others who have left or are still leaving an indelible mark in the United States, as an important link in building relations between our two states. These days, we witnessed the popularity enjoyed in the USA by our outstanding basketball players like Jokic, Bogdanovic, Bjelica, Marjanovic, Guduric, Smailagic and other athletes, creating a powerful bridge between our two nations.

In conclusion, allow me to once again commend the activities of the Serbia-USA Parliamentary Friendship Group as well as of the Institute for National and International Security, as a clear indication that geographic distance is not necessarily an impediment to strengthening the ties. With mutual commitment and efforts such initiatives may contribute to advancing cooperation in all fields in the future as well and help maintain the current upward trend.
Thank you for your attention. I wish you successful continuation of the conference."