After the meeting with Minister Christodoulides in Nicosia, Minister Selakovic thanked Cyprus for the support extended to Serbia on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, and also for the strong support to our country on its EU integration path.

"I would like to thank the Government, President and all others in Cyprus for their support to Serbia concerning the issue of Kosovo and Metohija and the preservation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty, but also for the strong support extended to Serbia in the process of accession to the European Union", Minister Selakovic said in Nicosia on his first bilateral visit since the assumption of his duties.

He said that membership of the European Union was a strategic goal of Serbia, but that the state itself, Minister Selakovic stressed, was determined to build a society on European foundations and values, in order to fit more easily in the European family. He underlined that Serbia gives full support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Cyprus. "And this will not change", Minister Selakovic stressed.

The Minister said that he was pleased that his first bilateral visit took place in a country friendly and brotherly to Serbia and the Serbian people.

Minister Selakovic emphasized that Serbia and Cyprus have fostered long-standing good relations and that the two countries maintained cooperation in many fields. He also shared the information that the two countries signed 36 cooperation agreements and added that he was certain that Serbia and Cyprus will find ways in the future to strengthen that cooperation even further.

The Serbian Foreign Minister expressed hope that the epidemiological situation will have improved by the time of the next joint session of the two Governments, planned for early next year.

Minister Selakovic described as historic the visit to Serbia made by President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades in 2018, as this was yet another step forward in the relations between the two countries while strengthening the cooperation.

Selakovic called on Serbian citizens to go and visit Cyprus, while inviting Cypriots to visit Serbian mountains and spas, adding that tourism was one of the areas with potential for development between the two countries.

Before his statement, Minister Selakovic greeted his hosts in Greek, to which his Cypriot counterpart jokingly replied that he was not aware that his biography said that he was proficient in the Greek language as well.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Christodoulides stated that the position of Cyprus on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija is clear and unchanged. He said that Cyprus will continue to lend full support to Serbia in the European integration process, stressing their readiness to send a team of experts to Serbia to assist in Serbia's faster integration into the European family. The Cypriot Minister assessed that Serbia has so far achieved good results in the field of European integration.

The Minister said that he was pleased that Minister Selakovic chose Cyprus for the first visit in his capacity as Serbian Foreign Minister, as yet another demonstration of the good and friendly relations between the two countries.

Minister Christodoulides underlined that cooperation is being carried out in many fields - from the economy to education and security. He announced that a delegation from Cyprus will visit Belgrade early next year and that the plan is to hold a business forum between the two countries then, in order to promote the economic cooperation.

Source: Tanjug