Đurić: We are proud of the long history of relations with Romania
Expressing his gratitude for the welcome, Minister Đurić pointed out that the history of Serbia-Romania relations was very long, and that Serbia was proud of the 145 years of diplomatic relations maintained with Romania.
"Today, we have agreed on a series of concrete steps to enhance our bilateral relations and on a roadmap that will enable us to intensify political dialogue and strengthen transport, energy, infrastructure, and economic connectivity between our countries," Đurić said at a press conference.
Minister Đurić expressed satisfaction with the fact that today it was agreed that consultations and meetings be held at the ministerial level at least twice a year, as well as that ministries hold regular political consultations, consular consultations, and talks on the situation of national communities with the aim of promoting their status.
"For us, the construction and completion of the highway that will connect our countries is a key priority. This will enable such a quick travel from Belgrade to Timișoara that our two societies will truly become much better integrated, with new economic opportunities, new opportunities in the field of education, in the field of economy, in the field of people-to-people exchange, thus further elevating the current level of relations," Đurić emphasized.
When it comes to the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, the head of Serbian diplomacy stated that Serbia was grateful to its Romanian friends for the principled support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country, as well as for the principled understanding of the difficult situation facing our people in Kosovo and Metohija.
"I took the opportunity to inform our Romanian friends about the challenges faced by the Serbian community in Kosovo and Metohija due to the unilateral and uncoordinated actions of Kurti's regime," the Minister said.
Đurić reiterated Belgrade's full commitment to solving these problems through dialogue, by implementing the existing agreements reached with EU facilitation.
"We need the support of our European partners, including Romania, to protect our common values: the human, political, economic and other rights of our people," the Minister stressed.
Speaking about the European integration process, Đurić said that our country was very grateful for Romania's support, and announced that by 2027, Serbia would formally complete all the reforms required for membership of the European Union.
Đurić pointed out that today the Serbian economy was growing and developing at such a rate, that in less than a decade we more than doubled our gross domestic product, that owing to the measures undertaken by President Vučić in previous years, we were also granted an investment rating, which is why Serbia attracted 65% of foreign direct investments in the region of the Western Balkans.
"I believe that, if we integrate our economies, we can bring greater prosperity to our citizens in Romania and Serbia, but also give an additional impetus to our international economic cooperation by working together in third markets," the Minister said.
When it comes to infrastructure projects of strategic interest, Đurić said that the reestablishment of railway passenger traffic was discussed today, as well as the revitalization of the railway infrastructure.
"I conveyed Serbia's interest in involving Romanian partners in some of our projects, such as Expo 2027, where Belgrade will host a major exhibition, and we would like to see Romanian companies participate in the construction of various segments of this project, which will truly change the image of this part of our country,” the Serbian Foreign Minister said.
After the meeting, Minister Odobescu told the press that the main goal of today's talks was to agree on a dynamic and pragmatic approach to the political and diplomatic, economic and sectoral dialogue between the two countries.
"We agreed on the dialogue between our ministries. A concrete example is the Memorandum of Understanding that we have just signed, which enables concrete cooperation at the level of our diplomatic academies," Odobescu said.
The Minister welcomed the economic progress that Serbia achieved in the previous ten years, and reiterated that there was a mutual willingness for the further strengthening and diversification of bilateral economic cooperation.
"A positive example in the field of energy infrastructure is the signing of the Memorandum for the Arad-Mokrin natural gas project. Regarding transportation, we want progress in both road and rail components," Minister Odobescu stated.
According to her, the opening of cultural institutes in Belgrade and Bucharest with branches in Vršac and Timișoara was an important goal of the dialogue between Serbia and Romania.
"The Romanian community in Serbia and the Serbian community in Romania are strong bridges between the two countries and the authorities need to work on strengthening the role of both minorities in the overall bilateral relations,” the Minister pointed out.
Odobescu reiterated Romania's constant support for Serbia's European integration process, and emphasized the importance of a sustainable pace of reforms in the process of our country's accession to the European Union.
"The Western Balkans is a region of strategic importance for Romania. Regarding security, I pointed out the fact that Romania is making a significant contribution to the region with a large military presence in the operations EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina and KFOR in Kosovo. Our country will take command of EUFOR Althea in January 2025, which is an honour for us, and this mandate gives us additional responsibility," the Minister said.
After today's talks, the ministers signed a Memorandum on Cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and the Romanian Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania.
