Ladies and gentlemen, dear Aleksandar,
It is a great pleasure to welcome you today to Athens, within the framework of the third High Level Cooperation Council between Greece and Serbia. It was an opportunity to reaffirm our excellent bilateral relations. And – I dare say – our excellent personal relationships. But also open a new chapter on them with the Strategic Partnership Declaration we just signed. A strategic partnership that, in my view, should have been signed a long time ago. A framework that upgrades and enriches with new content all levels of the common Greek-Serbian path: From Defense, Economy and Security, to Culture, Tourism, Sport, Education.
Our priorities – as we discussed – are Infrastructure and Energy. As far as the former are concerned, the European Union Interregional Cooperation Programs can be of assistance. The main objective – as we discussed – is to complete the Piraeus – Thessaloniki – Skopje – Belgrade – Belgrade – Budapest railway. Crucial for commerce and transport in a large regional arc, but also for communication with four neighboring peoples.
In the field of Energy, we had the opportunity to discuss how our cooperation is primarily geared towards consolidating energy security and diversifying supply sources across the wider region.
You understand Greece supports the development of the so-called Vertical Corridor through the completion of the Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), but also Bulgaria-Serbia (IBS) pipeline. That is why I welcome your position that Serbia is ready to buy gas from this diversified source. This will also facilitate the completion of the relevant investments on Greek soil.
Also, in other sectors of the economy, Greece and Serbia have a traditional convergence. We have a strong business presence, as you know, in your country. We have in our own way contributed to the very good performance of the Serbian economy. I would also like to congratulate you publicly on the fact that the Serbian economy is still growing very rapidly. We are ready to support investment in your country even more, and our own country is coming out of the financial crisis. We are ready to do much more in the field of Tourism, as we discussed, to which I attach great importance. Greece is the natural destination for our Serbian friends and Serbia should accordingly become a place of preference for Greeks who want to visit the wider area.
We have agreed to set up an Honorary Consulate of Serbia in Heraklion, Crete. It will be my great pleasure, dear Aleksandar, to welcome you sometime during the summer to my place in Crete, to formally validate this aspect of our cooperation.
But we talked with the President about another aspect, to which I attach great importance. The beloved Aleksandar responded to the Greek Government’s request to accommodate a number of unaccompanied refugees. Children who are currently in Greece. It is precisely his own initiative, which he has taken, that I welcome as an indication of practical solidarity. Not to Greece, but to these children and adolescents who are being tested in tragic conditions. And I find it extremely important that a candidate country for the European Union, with courage and boldness, is taking on its own moral obligations and he is supporting Greece in managing this difficult problem. Thanks again Aleksandar for your generosity, your mental generosity, for taking this initiative.
We also talked about Serbia’s European course. I will reiterate once again that Greece has consistently supported it. It was, moreover, under the Greek Presidency, in 2014, when the accession negotiations began.
Our position remains firm: Serbia belongs to Europe, this process must be completed, and this conviction is reinforced by our intention to support you at every step of the way, providing not only political support but also assistance to level of know-how.
The President also had the opportunity to brief me on the course of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue in favor of Athens. I repeat once again that our position on Kosovo does not change, it remains firm.
And I would like to add, of course, that lifting customs duties on Serbian products is – in our view – a necessary step in building trust between the two parties.
We agreed on the need to keep the European road and the rest of the Western Balkans open. While, for my part, I had the opportunity to develop and present to the President the Greek initiatives in the light of new developments.
At the same time, we also exchanged views on regional issues of interest to Greece and Serbia. We have explicitly agreed that it is only international law that ultimately guarantees peaceful coexistence between peoples. Especially in areas with a rich historical past, such as Southeast Europe.
Here I had the opportunity to reiterate some of the obvious things about the behavior of our eastern neighbors: The calm and steady treatment of persistent delinquency should not be misinterpreted. Because it is a product of national self-confidence, stemming first from the fact that illegality does not give rise to law.
Secondly, that we have the means and the will to defend our national sovereignty and our rights whenever required.
And third, by the fact that the whole international community is in favor of Greece on the issue of the invalid Turkey-Libya cooperation memorandum.
Let us not forget his condemnation by the European Union, the United States, Russia, Egypt and Israel. Our country has many and strong allies all over the world.
I repeat, however, that we will not be tired of stressing the need to respect international law, which is, moreover, a prerequisite for any good neighborly relationship. That is why we are firmly in favor of any bona fide dialogue.
I conclude by concluding that it was still a very cordial and fruitful discussion. I would like to thank once again the President of Serbia for his presence in Athens today.
This is despite the only issue where there has been an absolute disagreement between us. This is tonight’s football match, where our preferences are of course different. In any case, a red-white team will be the winner! Welcome back, Mr. President, to Athens! ”
During the meeting, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic signed the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between Greece and Serbia.
It was also signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Niko Dedija and the Minister of Education of Serbia Mladen Sarcevic, Program of Cooperation between the Government of the Hellenic Republic and the Government of the Republic of Serbia in the fields of Education, Science and Technological Development 20 for 20 .
Earlier, inaugurating the work of the 3rd Greek-Serbian Cooperation Council, the Prime Minister said:
“Dear Mr President, friend Aleksandar, welcome to Greece once again. It is a great pleasure to see you again after our recent meeting in New York in September.
This time I have the pleasure of welcoming you to Athens, within the framework of the 3rd High Level Cooperation Council between Greece and Serbia. There is no need to say how close the ties between our two countries are. They have solid foundations, solid foundations, in our historical, religious, cultural ties. We also share our vision of a Europe of security, peace, prosperity for our countries and for the countries of the wider region.
I think you did very well in the interview you gave in a daily Athens newspaper, when you said, “we have to keep each other’s backs”. I want you to know that for us, cooperation with Serbia is a strategic partnership that, in addition to rich historical references, is a relationship in which we invest heavily. We can discuss the full range of our bilateral relations, with emphasis on economic and foreign policy issues. But I want you to know, as I have said many times, that Greece will be a steadfast ally and supporter of Serbia on the difficult path that you have chosen to take to become a full member of the European Union. I would like to thank you again for your presence and I am sure that this meeting will lay another important foundation for the already excellent relationship between our two countries. ”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Foreign Minister Nikos Panayiotos Paikos Citizen in charge of Migration Policy George Koumoutsakos, Deputy Foreign Minister Konstantinos Fragogiannis, Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy Dimitris Economou, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure i Transport Ioannis Kefalogiannis, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Constantine Skrekas, the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou and officials.
From the Serbian side participated: President Aleksandar Vučić, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dači ο, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Nebojša Stefanović, the Minister of Mines and Energy Aleksandar Antić, the Minister of Defense Aleksandar Vulin, the Minister of Education, Science and Technological Progress Mladen Šarčević and officials.
