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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Strong partnership of Serbia, OSCE in strategic priorities

Belgrade, 24 May 2021

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic talked today with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ann Linde.

At a joint press conference after the meeting in the Palace of Serbia, Selakovic said that Serbia supports the OSCE priorities set during the Swedish presidency.

He added that this organisation is one of the most important for Serbia, and that Serbia is committed to strengthening the capacity of the OSCE.

We also support the efforts of the OSCE to succeed in finding a way to create a consensus on the adoption of the OSCE budget for 2021 in the coming period, he said.

The Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that the OSCE is of special importance for Serbia, bearing in mind that there are two OSCE missions in the territory of our country, in Belgrade and Pristina.

We have exceptional cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Belgrade. The OSCE mission has made an extremely significant contribution to reforms of our society in the past 20 years, and we are convinced that in the period ahead we will have the opportunity to continue this good cooperation, Selakovic said.

Selakovic stated that a status-neutral approach is extremely important for Belgrade when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija, and added that the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Metohija is the most visible status-neutral mission in the entire OSCE, and on the ground, when it comes to our southern province.

We were assured that the good practice of respecting this status neutrality of the OSCE will be continued during the Swedish chairmanship, both in terms of action on the ground and during visits to Kosovo and Metohija and participation of representatives of the interim institutions of self-government in meetings with the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Metohija, Selakovic stated.

He added that the reforms that are being carried out in Serbian society were also discussed at the meeting.

We touched on the issues of preservation and protection of human rights, media freedoms, and especially gender equality, greater representation of women in the functioning of our political system and public institutions, he said.

According to him, the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina was also discussed at the meeting as something that is essential for the further functioning of the entire region, and not only for the protection of our state and national interests.

Linde highlighted the strong partnership between the OSCE and Serbia in strategic priorities, stressing that Serbia has made general progress and added that the focus should now be on the independence of the judiciary, the promotion of free and independent media and the fight against organised crime.

As Linde pointed out, the OSCE is ready to continue supporting Serbia on this path.

She highlighted the role that Serbia has in supporting regional security, and added that it was commendable that Serbia offered coronavirus vaccination to countries in the region.

Linde said that Sweden will continue to provide strong support for Serbia's European integration, and added that she is looking forward to further strengthening cooperation between the OSCE and Serbia, as well as between Sweden and Serbia.