Serbia, Maldives sign several bilateral agreements

BELGRADE - Serbia and the Maldives signed several bilateral agreements in Belgrade on Tuesday.

On behalf of Serbia, Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic signed an intergovernmental agreement on air transport, Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic signed an agreement on trade, investments and economic cooperation and Minister of Sports Zoran Gajic signed a MoU in sports.

First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic signed an agreement on abolishing visas for holders of diplomatic and official passports and a MoU between the foreign ministries of Serbia and the Maldives.

Speaking to reporters after the signing of the documents, the Maldives' FM Abdulla Shahid said his country respected the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and fully supported its bid to host EXPO 2027.

He said he hoped bilateral relations would grow stronger as a result of the agreements and noted that, despite being geographically distant, the two countries shared the same problems when it comes to climate change, peace and global security.

He said the agreement on air transport was aimed at introducing direct flights between the two countries and promoting tourist exchange.

He also said he hoped visas would be abolished for holders of standard passports as well.

Noting the significance of cooperation between the two countries and development of their bilateral ties, Dacic said 2025 would mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Serbia and the Maldives.

"Our cooperation was very successful as early as in the era of the Non-Aligned Movement and we have retained the friendly relations. What is important to us is that the Maldives respect our territorial integrity and sovereignty and will vote in support of our positions in international organisations," Dacic said, adding that Serbia, too, respected the Maldives' positions and the problems the country was facing, above all, when it comes to climate change.

He thanked the Maldives for supporting Serbia's EXPO 2027 bid.

He said Serbia wanted to sign an agreement with the Maldives to abolish visas for holders of standard passports, too, but that current regulations and controls posed a problem in that regard as Europe was facing the issue of illegal migration.

Dacic also said Serbia wanted to open a representative office in the Maldives.