Selakovic: Serbia is grateful to Morocco for its support and position on Kosovo and Metohija

At a joint press conference held after the meeting with his colleague from Morocco, Selakovic pointed out that it was affirmed that the two countries fostered bilateral ties based on respect, reciprocity of our interests and values.

"This is a precondition for an open dialogue between Serbia and Morocco", Selakovic said thanking the Moroccan Foreign Minister for inviting him to visit the kingdom, a country that was, as he pointed out, historically and culturally remarkable and friendly towards Serbia.

Selakovic also stated that they shared the view that the quality of our political dialogue also needed to be marked by good economic cooperation as well as bringing the two peoples closer together.

"As a country that cares about every citizen, Serbia has taken adequate measures in order to protect its economy from the consequences of the health crisis. Our economy is solid, and we have a lot of foreign investments. I hope that Moroccan investors will recognize the potential of the Serbian economy, which has undergone significant reforms along with fiscal consolidation", Selakovic said.

He added that the economic topics they discussed would be explored in detail during the next meeting of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation between Serbia and Morocco, and that the development of cooperation in the field of tourism, textile industry, pharmaceutical industry, agri-food and other areas would also be discussed.

Selakovic also stated that Serbia could offer an exchange of experiences in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, having gone through an important experience in the process of immunization of citizens and that it was ready to share it with the Moroccan authorities.

The Minister also commended the Moroccan Government's fight against Covid-19 as well as the immunization process.

"Our common interest is to continue developing cooperation in the fields of education, culture, where we have good foundations. Serbia and Morocco share important interests that need to be translated into concrete actions", Selakovic said.

He invited his counterpart to visit Serbia.

"I hope that I will have the opportunity to be your host on a visit to Serbia. That visit would enable us to deepen our relations and cooperation based on mutual trust even further", the Head of Serbian diplomacy said.

Bourita: Morocco considers Kosovo a part of Serbia

Morocco is a sincere friend of Serbia, which will always be against threatening the territorial integrity of states, which is the case with the issue of Kosovo, which Morocco considers a part of Serbia, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita stated this evening.

Bourita also pointed out that the political relations between the two countries were good, but that the economic potential was not fully used, so they needed additional impetus.

"I am glad to be able to be your host in our country. The relations between the two countries are relations of friendship, trust, mutual respect and solidarity. These are decades-long relations, which have always been good, carried by the desire of our leaders, as is also the case today with King Mohammed and the Serbian President", Bourita said.

He emphasized the clear position of Morocco on Serbia's territorial integrity and its opposition to attempts made to threaten its territorial integrity.

"Morocco will always be against separatism, and against all attempts to threaten national unity and integrity of states. That is also the case with the issue of Kosovo, which Morocco considers a part of Serbia", Bourita emphasized.

He added that the relations between the two countries were also based on excellent coordination on key issues, at the level of international organizations.

He reminded that the next year marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Serbia and Morocco, to which he referred to as relations of friendship, sincerity and proven solidarity.

"Our political relations are good, but the economic potential has not been fully used. That is something we agreed on today, on how to give impetus to our economic relations and how to make our joint commission an instrument for the promotion of investments and economic exchange", Bourita said.

He added that the commission, which would meet by the end of the year, would have to focus on that dimension and expand its work to integrate businessmen from Morocco and Serbia within an economic forum that would allow private sectors of the two countries to contribute to the strengthening of excellent ties.

He also stated that the Business Council, which was established three years ago, should be reactivated and included in the strengthening of bilateral relations.

"Today's visit is important for our relations, because it enabled us to strengthen the legal framework of our relations by signing three agreements. First of all in terms of political cooperation, we agreed to create thematic and regional working groups, in order to better defend our strategic interests in international and regional organizations", Bourita said.

Furthermore, an agreement was signed in the field of defence, as well as in the field of science and education, in which, as he said, there was a lot of room for joint efforts and progress, because Serbia had proven the vitality of its scientific research sector.

"When it came to facing the pandemic, Serbia proved the strength of its system. Today, we see that Serbia is moving towards the production of vaccines", Minister Bourita underlined.

He also said that marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade would be an important moment.

"We agreed to make the next year a year of celebration of the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The year of celebration through acts, meetings, but also concrete goals that we will establish in the economy, culture and political harmonization", Bourita said.

Source: Tanjug