Minister Selaković visits Jordan

"We were very practical, we gave our teams specific tasks that must lead to concrete results", said Minister Selaković, and expressed confidence that from the moment of the meeting between President Aleksandar Vučić and Jordan's King Abdullah II, we will be able to improve our relationships much faster and better.

He specified that it was agreed that the two ministries would prepare an agreement on investment protection and promotion, a ban on double taxation and the abolition of visas for diplomatic and official passports as soon as possible, as a first step towards the permanent abolition of visas between our two countries, as well as concluding agreements on air traffic, that is, on airline services.

"These are very specific tasks, what we need to prepare in the coming period. I used this opportunity to invite Minister Safadi to pay a return official visit to Belgrade. The Minister accepted the invitation, and all that remains is to set the date of the visit", says Minister Selaković.

According to him, in a good and fruitful conversation with his Jordanian colleague, it was stated that it is necessary to renew the work of the Joint Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation between Serbia and Jordan, which he states last met in 1987.

"We had a stalemate in the communication between our two business communities, a break of 34 years, we had no meetings in official visits, there were some meetings on the sidelines, but there were no official visits for more than three decades", said the head of Serbian diplomacy.

He emphasized that this year is a jubilee year for the diplomatic relations between Serbia and Jordan, and reminded that 70 years ago, Jordan and the former Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia concluded an agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations.

"We have a 70-year-long tradition of our diplomatic relations, and almost half of that period passed without almost any communication. For the Republic of Serbia, which has its diplomatic presence in the Middle East in, I can say, all countries, Jordan is the only country in which we do not even have an embassy. That is probably a consequence of reckless and bad policy from 2004, when the decision was made to close the embassy", Selaković said.

Minister Selaković also met today with the President of the Senate, Faisal Al-Fayez, who is appointed by the King of Jordan, and conveyed that the interlocutors in Jordan asked the Serbian delegation to hear our position and information from us.

"This means that we have not communicated with them properly for a long time and the question is whether their position on some national issues of vital importance to us, such as the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, would be exactly the same if we had an embassy here and the constant diplomatic presence of our people who could explain what our positions are", stated Minister Selaković.

He conveyed that they stated at the meeting that it was necessary to exchange visits at the highest level as soon as possible, and that the President of the Senate expressed a desire to visit Belgrade.

Minister Selaković said that there is great interest in establishing cooperation in the field of education, culture, youth and sports, but also tourism.

He stated that Petra is one of the most visited historical sites where tourists come from all over the world, and that the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ is also located in Jordan.

Minister Selaković said that Jordan is a country in which the spirit of understanding, respect and tolerance really permeates the entire society, and that Jordan has the largest number of refugees from various countries in the Middle East.

"You have refugees from Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Egyptians who found refuge here during the time of the Muslim Brotherhood. Despite all that, they are a country that has a future", said Minister Selaković.

He stated that out of a total of slightly more than 10 million inhabitants of Jordan, almost 70 percent are younger than 30, and said that this means that Jordan is a country that has a future.

“Their investments and successes, especially in the IT industry, are really fascinating. The IT industry accounts for almost 13% of Jordan's GDP, which is incredible. We have identified which areas are of mutual interest, what we should work on in the future and gave tasks to our teams", said Minister Selaković.