First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said today that Serbia and Finland have good bilateral relations, which can be improved, especially in the field of the economy.
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First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said today that Serbia and Finland have good bilateral relations, which can be improved, especially in the field of the economy.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto, Dacic underlined that the economic cooperation between the two countries is relatively low in terms of opportunities, noting that last year's trade amounted to approximately €150 million.
He pointed out that Serbia and Finland could have greater trade in goods and investments, and in that sense he stated that Serbia is ready to seek all ways to increase the dynamics of meetings between associations, chambers and business forums.
Serbia and Finland could successfully cooperate in other spheres as well, and it is necessary to work on defining common interests, Dacic said, expressing gratitude to Finland for its support to Serbia's European integration and EU enlargement policy.
Dacic said that the topics of today's meeting with Haavisto were regional cooperation, internal political situation, elections in Kosovo-Metohija and in Serbia and the continuation of dialogue with Pristina.
He indicated that Serbia wants dialogue to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for Kosovo-Metohija, and added that our country will fulfil the recommendations given by the ODIHR for the parliamentary elections.
Dacic recalled that a Working group for cooperation with the ODIHR has been formed, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic.
Haavisto stressed that Finland is ready to help Belgrade and Pristina in every possible way, adding that the goodwill of all parties is important for that.
He estimated that the huge tariffs imposed by Pristina are unacceptable, but also that Serbia's lobbying for withdrawal of the recognition of Kosovo will negatively affect the process of finding a solution to the Kosovo issue.
Finland supports EU enlargement and believes that the process should be continued, Haavisto said, noting that it is important for the Western Balkans to be involved in European cooperation, a significant component of which is Serbia.