Declaration on Political Consultation Mechanism Venezuela - Serbia

The delegation from the Republic of Serbia was headed by His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nikola Selaković, while the delegation from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was headed by the Minister of the People's Power for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carlos Faría Tortosa.

This meeting of Political Consultations, at an elevated strategic level, was characterized by a high spirit of cooperation, and responded to the binational interest regarding the actual historical challenges in the current global context.

The Parties expressed mutual satisfaction for the dynamic development of the established political dialogue, since this contributes to the strengthening of the bilateral relationship.

In this sense, both delegations agreed on the need to reiterate their commitment to the consolidation of intergovernmental relations, for the benefit of both peoples, taking into account the complexities of the current geopolitical moment and the construction of the new global order. In this regard, the Venezuelan Party expressed their gratitude to the President of the Republic  of Serbia Mr Aleksandar Vučić and to the Government of the Republic of Serbia for their contributions to strengthening the multipolar and pluricentric system, based upon the full respect of widely accepted rules and principles of international public law, with special emphasis on the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty and non-interference in internal matters of sovereign states.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Serbia, as the largest succesor state of former Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, have long tradition of supporting freedom, peacuful coexistance, anticolonialism and equality among states and peoples, which were the core ideas of the Non-Aligned Movement and to which both sides have been contributing and continue to contribute significantly. In that context, mutual dedication to peaceful and diplomatic resolution of all kinds of open issues was expressed, affirming strong belief that the use of coercive and restrictive measures does not contribute to this end. Both parties highlighted the importance of coordinating joint efforts in order to strengthen and improve the existing instruments in the United Nations system to confront and avoid this type of unilateral action.

The Parties reaffirmed their satisfaction at achieving the objectives outlined within the framework of the Political Consultation Mechanism and undertake to continue strengthening political approaches in order to facilitate the signing of a Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Serbia.

The delegations reiterated the importance of advancing in the development of a straightforward, broad and constructive dialogue aimed at achieving a mutually beneficial relationship, which allows for the reaffirming and consolidation of the capacities of both countries. By virtue of this, it has been agreed on the need to raise the level of the Serbian-Venezuelan bilateral relations, especially in the current global context, in order to promote and establish opportunities for fruitful and stable bilateral exchange between both nations.

The authorities paid special attention to the promotion of joint actions in international and multilateral organizations, including mutual support in the nomination of candidates to occupy management positions in the different multilateral scenarios, making use of these fora to promote respect for the international law and the right of each country to achieve its economic, social and cultural development in peace.

With a view to bringing the friendly peoples of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Serbia even closer together and to facilitating cultural exchanges, the parties discussed the interest of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in placing a statue of the founding father of the country, Simón Bolívar The Liberator, in the city of Belgrade, as well as the interest of the Republic of Serbia to place a statue of Nikola Tesla, one of the most prominent Serbs, in Caracas. The Venezuelan side would provide the statue of Simon Bolivar, while the Serbian side would provide the statue of Nikola Tesla.

The delegations of Venezuela and Serbia recognized the efforts to hold this Political Consultation Mechanism and expressed special satisfaction for the signing of the following instruments:

• Cooperation Convention in the Field of Tourism between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Serbia;
• Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Youth and Sports between the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of the People's Power for Youth and Sports of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela;
• Interinstitutional Cooperation Agreement between the National Library of the Republic of Serbia and the National Library of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Both Parties agreed to hold the next meeting in 2023 in Belgrade, on dates to be agreed through diplomatic channels.

This joint declaration was approved and signed in Caracas on August 11, 2022, in two copies in English language.

          By the Venezuelan Government

           Carlos Rafael Faria Tortosa

Minister of People's Power for Foreign Affairs

          By the Serbian Government

                Nikola Selaković

        Minister for Foreign Affairs