Vucic: We extremely appreciate friendship with Central African Republic

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday evening Serbia extremely appreciated the friendship with the Central African Republic (CAR) and that the relationship was a priority, and added that he would do everything in his power to develop various deep relations with the CAR and other African countries.

"We are proud of the legacy with the African continent - we made the first inter-state agreements in 1968 and 1972," Vucic said after meeting with CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera in Belgrade.

Now it is time to renew those agreements, he said.

He thanked Touadera for his country's firm respect of the territorial integrity of Serbia.

"That is extremely important to us. That way, of course, you also respect the UN Charter and resolutions adopted in the UN General Assembly. President Touadera told me: 'We respect Serbia, which is our friend, but we are also do so for our own sake, as well as for the sake of respect of international public law, for the sake of all those who want to safeguard their integrity,'" Vucic said at a joint press conference with Touadera.

He said Serbia would always fully support the territorial integrity of the CAR.

"You can count on that," Vucic told Touadera, noting that the CAR was important to Serbia also because of the 71 Serbian peacekeepers deployed to the country as part of the MINUSCA mission.

Serbia will always help the CAR, he said.

"We have enormous respect for you and we are greatly grateful to you. I know how much more you understand the geopolitical situation than the majority of politicians around the world, and I was able to also learn a lot from you today. But I am particularly grateful to you, Mr President, for your openness and for your faith in Serbian scientists and in our people's knowledge in various fields," Vucic added.

Noting the successful past cooperation with the CAR, Vucic said the two countries were able to do many things of mutual interest in the future as well.

"I believe we can reach very significant results in all other areas, from agriculture, mining and geological explorations to defence cooperation," Vucic said, asking his counterpart to raise the level of bilateral diplomatic contacts in all institutions, organisations and agencies worldwide to that of permanent consultations.

Touadera said his working and friendly visit to Serbia was important for forging ties that would help develop fruitful cooperation like the one that had existed in the era of the former Yugoslavia.

He praised "modern Serbia's leadership" in the Balkans and said it opened up new perspectives of cooperation in an era of globalisation and major geopolitical, geostrategic, geoeconomic and other challenges.

"After years of hibernation, the time has come to restart economic, social, cultural and expert cooperation between our two countries," Touadera said, noting that the visit to Belgrade reflected his country's wish to further open its borders to Serbian investors.

Previously, Serbia and the CAR signed four agreements.

A framework agreement on intergovernmental cooperation was signed by FMs Ivica Dacic and Sylvie Baipo-Temon, who also inked an agreement on setting up a bilateral commission.

Defence Ministers Milos Vucevic and Jean-Claude Rameaux Bireau signed an intergovernmental agreement on defence cooperation.

Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic and her counterpart Rufin Benam Beltoungou signed a MoU on cooperation in geology, mining and the oil sector.