Djuric: Serbia fully ready for strategic partnership with the US

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric stated at the Pupin Initiative's Forum in Washington that Serbia is fully ready for a strategic partnership with the United States, emphasizing that Serbia's relationships with key global players are on an upward trajectory.

"We have signed a strategic partnership agreement with the European Union on sustainable raw materials, which will strengthen our position in the US. We have also signed a strategic partnership agreement with the US in energy. This is of immeasurable importance, not only in the energy sector but also for positioning Serbia internationally. Recently, the French president visited us, and we expanded our defense capacities with the help of European partners. All of this has economic and political implications," Djuric said.

He added that the opening of a strategic dialogue between Serbia and the US had also been a topic of discussion.

"I can’t wait for that to start happening, we are fully ready. I believe that Serbia can add value to Europe through our partnerships with countries beyond Europe. For some time now, we have supported the independence struggles of some African and Asian nations, and we also have strong friendships in Latin America. We are open to helping in partnerships between American and European countries to achieve common positive goals in that direction," Djuric emphasized.

He highlighted that Serbia is working very hard to create a friendly environment in the Western Balkans region.

"We must focus on our regional policies. Serbia is the country in Europe with the most neighbors after Germany. We share borders with eight countries, while Germany has nine. This means that working on good relations and a synchronized approach to global challenges with our neighbors can contribute to the development of our region, security, and transport. We are trying to maintain a principled position on key issues, not just because we support Ukraine's territorial integrity, but because we know that supporting this is a protective measure for our own stability. The same principles and values apply everywhere," Djuric stressed.

He also touched on the diaspora, mentioning that over a million Serbian Americans live in the US.

"They are very well organized, especially around the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is a pillar and foundation of the Serbian community. It preserves the spiritual, cultural, and linguistic identity of a wide range of individuals. There is a 'little Serbia' outside of Serbia living in the US, contributing to this society. There are 137 parishes of the Serbian Church in this large and beautiful country. If all these people stand together, organize, and find common ground, a lot can be achieved, and almost nothing is out of reach. Their role is a bridge between our societies. We need to build our capacity for interaction with the US. Despite the fact that we are a small nation in terms of population and territorial size, we have the mentality of great nations and ambition, but we need to work on building our capacity for interaction," Djuric said.