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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Agreement on regulating Serbia's debt towards Slovakia signed

Belgrade, 30 May 2019

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini signed today the Agreement on the regulation of Serbia's debt towards the Slovak Republic.

Brnabic told reporters after meeting with Pellegrini and the Slovak delegation that settling the clearing debt symbolically put an end to last open issue between the two countries.

She reminded that Serbia and Slovakia have very good partnerships and better economic relations.

The agreement shows that the Serbian government repaid debts that were created 25 years ago and that we are a responsible and reliable partner to whom Bratislava can always rely, the Prime Minister said.

Brnabic expressed her gratitude to Slovakia for continuing support to Serbia on the European path, underlining that Slovakia is one of the EU countries that each time votes for opening the largest number of chapters for which Serbia is ready to be ready and advocates the Union's enlargement agenda.

She also conveyed her gratitude on the principled position of Slovakia not to recognise the unilateral independence of Kosovo.

According to Brnabic, in the forthcoming period, she will strive to further enhance bilateral economic cooperation, since trade between the two countries is getting better every year.

She said that in 2018 an unprecedented trade volume of about €566 million was made, an increase of 10% compared to 2017.

We do not have many such friends and partners like Slovakia, she underlined and pointed out that national minorities are also an important link between the two countries.

Pellegrini stressed that official Bratislava understands the frustration of Serbia stemming from the introduction of taxes, but also incidents, saying that the Pristina side must be required to fulfill the obligations arising from the agreements reached.

He stressed that the fee Pristina imposed on Serbian goods is contrary to all CEFTA agreement and that it is a reason for mistrust, adding that Slovakia does not intend to change its position regarding the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.

Today's signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the settlement of clearing debt closed all open issues between the two countries, he said.

Pellegrini confirmed that Slovakia will remain a permanent advocate for EU enlargement, and that Serbia will become a member of the country one day, with the remark that it will do everything to help the official Belgrade on this difficult road.