Dacic: Attitude of Caribbean states to our strategic interests important to us

BELGRADE - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic met with St Lucia's FM Alva Baptiste in Belgrade on Tuesday and said the attitude of Caribbean states to Serbian strategic interests was very important to Serbia.

At a press conference with Baptiste, Dacic noted that many Caribbean states were members of various international organisations.

"St Lucia is one of the important countries where various regional organisations are headquartered and we want to have the closest possible relations," Dacic said.

He said he was certain Baptiste's visit would "lend a strong impetus to advancement of our bilateral relations" and added that it was important that "we maintain the positive dynamics of our political dialogue."

He said Serbia was committed to further develop its relations with St Lucia, including by establishing a mechanism of bilateral political consultations in line with a MoU signed in Belgrade last year.

He noted that agreements on abolishing visas for holders of diplomatic and official passports and on cooperation in culture had been signed as well.

He thanked St Lucia for supporting Serbia's successful bid to host Expo 2027 and for derecognising the so-called Kosovo.

"To us, the issue of territorial integrity is paramount and we are very grateful our friends from St Lucia understood that our efforts for respect of international law were legitimate," Dacic said.

He noted that Serbia stood ready to develop ties with St Lucia in culture, the economy, security and youth, sports and education, specifically, through its World In Serbia scholarship programme.

He remarked that St Lucia's representative had been elected chairperson of the Unesco Executive Board, and asked Baptiste for full coordination between the political positions of Serbia and St Lucia at Unesco as Serbia was facing constant pressure from Pristina, which he noted wanted to apply for full membership in the organisation, annulling the Serbian cultural heritage.

"They (Pristina) do not have the majority in Unesco but it is important that the Unesco Executive Board chairperson, too, has Serbia's principled position in mind," Dacic said.

Baptiste thanked the government and the people of Serbia for their warm welcome and hospitality.

"Our central objective is to ensure that, even after we have left our respective offices, there is people-to-people contact, that the people of Serbia can relate to the people of St Lucia and that the people of St Lucia can relate to the people of Serbia," he said, conveying the regards of St Lucia's PM Philip Joseph Pierre.

He said he believed direct flights between Serbia and St Lucia would be established in the near future.

Baptiste also said Serbia and St Lucia must take part in discussions on global issues despite not being major global players.

"Serbia currently is pursuing a very important course, one of providing leadership in its region, and reaching out to non-traditional destinations as it practices its own version of multi-dimensional diplomacy, and that is a very useful avenue to pursue," he said.

"You can count on our commitment, you can count on us to be principled in our engagements. You alluded to our position in Unesco - and it will be no exception to the principled manner in which we have dealt with diplomacy," Baptiste told Dacic.