Dacic: Serbia has chosen cooperation with China as its proven friend

LIANYUNGYANG - Addressing the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum in Lianyungang, China, Serbian Deputy PM and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that, amid global instability, Serbia had, "with determination, chosen further strengthening of cooperation with a proven friend" - China.

This conference shows China is prepared to take the role of a global security leader in a new, multipolar world, Dacic said, noting that China's support regarding Serbia's territorial integrity in Kosovo-Metohija was very important to Belgrade.

He noted that Serbia and China were connected by a steely friendship forged through intensive economic cooperation, mutual trust and understanding regarding the top national and strategic issues for the two countries.

For more than a decade, Serbia had been an active participant of the Belt and Road initiative through numerous projects, and in March this year, it had the special honour of welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping, who "had the opportunity to see for himself that he enjoys great popularity among the Serbs, as well as that there is constant and strong support for the Belt and Road initiative," Dacic said.

He noted that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Xi had signed a joint statement on deepening and stepping up the overall strategic partnership and building a Sino-Serbian community with a shared future in the new era, which he said now represented the highest standard in the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Dacic said that the document also envisioned Serbian support to the Global Security Initiative, which he noted spoke about the concept of security "in a way that is close, clear and understandable to our country and our people."

"On multiple occasions, we have suffered as a nation because certain centres of power or terrorist organisations have tried to achieve their interests through violence, at the expense of the lives and the security of our citizens. From all that, we have come away stronger and more aware of the weaknesses of the existing global security infrastructure. Finding a more comprehensive approach to security in which security is shared, and not opposed, can contribute to a more secure world," Dacic said.