Djuric in Rome with the Chair of the Chamber of Deputies’ Foreign Affairs Committee

24. Jul 2024.
As part of his official visit to the Italian Republic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Marko Djuric met with the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies, Giulio Tremonti.

Noting that he was pleased to meet with Tremonti again, after his recent visit to Belgrade as head of Italian delegation, and to have an opportunity to continue constructive discussions about parliamentary cooperation as an important segment of overall bilateral relations, Djuric said that Serbia appreciated our Italian friends’ consistent support for its European integration, especially as part of an informal group of EU member states known as the Friends of Western Balkans.

The Serbian Foreign Minister conveyed concern over continued unilateral and provocative moves by Pristina that not only erode the Brussels dialogue but pose a serious threat to the survival of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, as testified by the fact that nearly 15 per cent of the Serb population has left the territory of the province in the past year alone.

In this connection, Djuric said the presence and engagement of Italian troops as part of the KFOR mission were extremely important and gave a substantial contribution to preservation of the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija, especially through protection of the Visoki Decani monastery.

Regarding the increasingly intensive bilateral economic cooperation and investments, the Minister pointed out that our country would continue to work dedicatedly to maintain its current position of Italy's largest foreign trade partner in the Western Balkans, recalling the fact that the trade in goods and services in the previous year exceeded 5 billion euros.

In this context, Djuric commended the holding of the Serbia-Italy Business and Science Forum and the Innovation Forum last year in Belgrade, which were an excellent opportunity for the wider enhancement of cooperation in numerous areas.

Seeing that our capital city will host the Specialized Exhibition "Expo" in 2027, Djuric reiterated the invitation for as many Italian companies as possible to participate, expressing the hope that the Italian pavilion would have a notable presence at this event.