Selaković: Historic visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Selaković pointed out the historical character of the meeting, since it is the first bilateral visit by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Serbia, reminding that next year the two countries will mark ten years since the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Minister Selaković said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an important and friendly country and that friendly relations between the two countries and the mutual willingness to contribute to further cooperation have been confirmed. He added that Serbia would like to work towards promoting bilateral relations through the active strengthening of political dialogue and more frequent high-level meetings.

“I am certain that after today's meetings, the Republic of Serbia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will see a period of intense cooperation”, Selaković said.

The head of Serbian diplomacy added that he conveyed Serbia’s interest in promoting cooperation between the two ministries of foreign affairs, through permanent communication that could, at some point, develop into political consultations.

“In a very open and constructive conversation, we discussed concrete possibilities for more effective ​​economic cooperation, which, we hope, will gain on intensity after the agreement we reached today. We are interested in furthering cooperation in the fields of agriculture, tourism, information technology, and energy”, Selaković said.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he said, is making incredible progress in all areas of development, and as such is a desirable friend and partner to any sovereign state.

“We have confirmed our clear and unequivocal support to all peace efforts to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, because this kind of devastating and difficult events have consequences on the whole of humanity”, Selaković said.

Expressing satisfaction that it was the third meeting between the two colleagues over the past 11 months, Selaković pointed out that the meeting dynamics should continue.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said that he was enjoying his visit to Belgrade, adding that he appreciates Serbia's decision to support Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the EXPO 2030 exhibition.

“We discussed everything that aims to improve our relations in all fields between two friendly peoples and countries. I see that the President of Serbia and my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, are very determined to improve relations, and such a strong determination exists on our side as well”, said Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. He added that it is necessary to work on exchanging visits at the highest levels and maintain regular contact in order to define opportunities for improving cooperation in all fields.

Prince Faisal bin Ferhan Al Saud said that he is looking forward to future cooperation with Serbia, and noted that trade between the two countries has increased significantly in the past year, adding that it is necessary to work together on different initiatives, projects and investments.

“The crisis between Ukraine and Russia was also the topic of our conversation. We support all efforts aimed at solving this crisis peacefully, in order to reduce all the negative consequences for the world economy”, said the head of diplomacy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The two ministers signed today a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.