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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia, Switzerland sign agreement on simplified visa procedure

Belgrade, 30 June 2009

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic met today with Swiss Federal Minister of Justice and Police Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf to discuss cooperation between the Serbian and Swiss police and judicial bodies.

Author: Tanjug

Dacic and Widmer-Schlumpf signed agreements on police cooperation, readmission and simplified visa issuance procedure, as well as a Memorandum on Understanding in migration matters.

At a press conference, held at the Serbian Palace, Dacic said that the agreement concerning a simplified procedure for visa issuance is very important for Serbia and voiced his belief that the document will only be temporarily implemented and that Serbian citizens will be able to travel without visas as of January 1, 2010.

The Minister pointed to the importance of cooperating with Switzerland, particularly when it comes to the economy, police, readmission and migration issues.

Minister Dacic voiced his appreciation to the Swiss police for their assistance in the fight against organised crime.

The Minister recalled that a large number of Serbian citizens lives in this country, reiterating the importance of preventing all kinds of illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, robbery, financial crime and similar.

He also noted the significance of cooperation on readmission issues, adding that Switzerland is one of the European countries from which the largest number of Serbian citizens has been returned to Serbia through readmission procedure.

Widmer-Schlumpf voiced her expectation that the agreement signed today will be a transitory solution until full abolishment of visas for Serbian citizens.

The Swiss Minister of Justice and Police noted that a relatively large number of Serbian citizens live in Switzerland illegally and should be repatriated, announcing Swiss assistance in reintegration of returnees.

She said that there is a negative and positive side to migration processes and the goal of the agreement on cooperation in this area is joint fight against the negative aspects of migration.

Widmer-Schlumpf stated that she and Dacic also discussed concrete forms of cooperation between Serbia and Switzerland, considering that joint work is indispensable for fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and crime.