Djuric: Southeast Asia has stood by Serbia on Kosovo, we seek stronger ties

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said from Manila, where he is leading the Serbian delegation at meetings held at the ASEAN Summit, that the countries of Southeast Asia have stood by Serbia on the issue of Kosovo and added that Serbia seeks to deepen its relations with the countries of the region, one of the world's strongest engines of economic growth.

Djuric stated that one of Belgrade's objectives during its participation in the ASEAN Summit is to reaffirm the region's firm support for Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"This region has stood by us on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija and supported our country and its territorial integrity even during more difficult times. We are here to better understand the processes unfolding in Southeast Asia and why the attention of all major powers is focused on this region," Djuric said.

He noted that the Serbian delegation has two additional objectives during the ASEAN Summit.

"The first is to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the Philippines, a country of 124 million people with a growing economy that is on track to become one of the world's 20 largest economies. ASEAN is a region with which Serbia's trade exceeded €1.3 billion last year. We want to engage with the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia—that is, the countries of a region that represents one of the world's strongest engines of economic growth—and further enhance our relations," the Serbian foreign minister said.

He added that the Philippines is a country where some of Serbia's neighboring states, such as Slovenia and Croatia, maintain embassies and a permanent diplomatic presence.

"Over the past three decades, Serbia has somewhat fallen out of the pattern of maintaining a continuous presence in the Philippines and in this region. I am pleased that, at the invitation of the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs, I will participate in the Summit tomorrow and hold a bilateral meeting with her, as well as a series of other meetings with foreign ministers from across the region. This is also the first visit by a Serbian foreign minister to this part of the world in 16 years," Djuric said.

The second important objective, he added, is to encourage additional countries to participate in Expo 2027 Belgrade.

"Given these countries' rich traditions in culture and sport, and knowing that the theme of Expo is closely linked to those fields, while extending far beyond them, we also want to discuss this issue so that countries in the region that have not yet confirmed their participation in Expo will do so," the Serbian foreign minister said.

Djuric also noted that Manila is today hosting highly significant talks between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"The Chinese foreign minister and the Indian foreign minister are also here. Manila is today a venue for dialogue, discussions and efforts to overcome the global causes of instability, based on the principles enshrined in the 1967 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, which Serbia supported and acceded to in 2023. Serbia thereby became a High Contracting Party, as the document defines it, in cooperation with the countries of Southeast Asia. I believe it is in our national and state interest to make an additional effort to strengthen our ties with countries that may be geographically distant but are of crucial importance for the future of humanity in the 21st century in economic, political and demographic terms," Djuric concluded.