Djuric: All three objectives achieved in Manila, support for Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty reaffirmed

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric announced that Serbia had achieved all three of its objectives at the ASEAN Summit in Manila and that, among other things, support for Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty had been reaffirmed by several Southeast Asian countries.

"We reaffirmed support for Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty from several Southeast Asian countries. We also succeeded, through bilateral talks, in holding substantive discussions on the participation of a larger number of Southeast Asian countries in Expo, which will take place next year. As a third, equally important objective, we managed to hold productive discussions and meetings with several influential and major countries in the region," Djuric said.

He noted that the Serbian delegation held bilateral meetings with representatives of Chile and that he also met with the representative of Timor-Leste in what was the first meeting in the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries at the level of foreign ministers.

Djuric added that, on the sidelines of these meetings, he also met with numerous European and other foreign ministers.

He pointed out that the summit was attended by the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, as well as ministers from many countries, including Sweden, Poland and Lithuania, which, he said, demonstrates the importance of this part of the world for the future of humanity.

"Naturally, discussions here focused on the challenges we all face together, including how to deal with the simultaneous economic crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East, the restructuring of the global order, the rise of artificial intelligence and the rivalry among major powers. In all of this, Serbia is seeking its place based on the principles of the United Nations Charter while protecting our national interests and our borders," he said.

Djuric stressed that by defending the UN Charter, "we are at the same time defending our national interest and certain universal principles."

"I believe it is highly significant that Serbia does not view its cooperation, economic development and future solely through the prism of its immediate neighborhood, but continues to pursue a balanced and strategically conceived foreign policy that seeks to strengthen our international position through cooperation with the countries of the future, and there are many such countries here in Southeast Asia," he said.

He described the debate as mature, serious and responsible.

"I have the impression that the debate here is sometimes better structured than in our region and on our continent as a whole, and I do not know whether that should encourage or concern us. Personally, it concerns me, but at the same time I am encouraged to see that more and more European ministers and leaders recognize the importance of cooperation between our continent and this part of the world. I am pleased to represent a country that played a pioneering role in cooperation with Southeast Asian countries many decades ago and that helped support the development of certain Southeast Asian countries in the post-colonial era, just as we were among the first to do so in Africa. I believe that this multi-vector approach can not only strengthen Serbia's position in this part of the world but also represent a comparative advantage for Serbia within the European framework," Serbia's foreign minister said.

Djuric believes that the objective of presenting Serbia as an active country committed to cooperation and looking toward the future has been achieved.

"I believe our presence here is beneficial for Serbia and for our position in Europe, even though the issues discussed here differ from those in our region, precisely because of the historical capital Serbia possesses through the Non-Aligned Movement. At the same time, it was important that, during our address in the plenary session, we had the opportunity to highlight issues that are important to us, such as Kosovo and Metohija, Expo, and our commitment to supporting international public law and cooperation based on equality," Djuric concluded.