Dacic meets with Surinamese FM

BELGRADE - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic met with Surinamese FM Albert Ramdin in Belgrade on Thursday, noting that there were multiple areas in which the two countries could cooperate to boost bilateral ties.

At a joint press conference, Dacic said he was pleased to be able to discuss important national affairs of the two countries with Ramdin.

"We have very developed bilateral relations with Suriname. Our relations are very friendly and based on mutual respect and understanding, especially when it comes to national and state interests. In that sense, for us it is very important that Suriname was the first state, after Sao Tome and Principe and a period of time that followed, to decide to derecognise the so-called Kosovo. After that, 26 more countries derecognised it, which significantly changed our foreign policy position," Dacic said.

He said he expected agreements signed with Suriname during his visit to the country to start to materialise.

He said that, in addition to political cooperation, it was also important to advance cooperation in other areas.

"To review opportunities for cooperation, for development of business, to share interests and to see what our common points for cooperation are," Dacic said, thanking Suriname for supporting Belgrade's successful bid to host EXPO 2027.

"We will support everything Suriname and its region are doing," he added.

Dacic also said Serbia would back the establishment of a specialised tribunal for transatlantic slavery reparations.

"It is about more than ten million people who were taken out of their homes at the time and declared slaves. Interestingly, some of the countries that are co-sponsors of a Srebrenica resolution should probably see what they will do about that, what they will do if they face claims for transatlantic slavery reparations. In that regard, since I have seen the requests from Barbados, Suriname and Guyana, Serbia is absolutely keen to help the idea materialise," Dacic said.

Ramdin said he was glad to be in Serbia again and that the current period was very important globally.

"We are so connected that what happens in one part of the globe will have an impact on other parts of the globe," he said.

Ramdin also said he was "very pleased" with Dacic's statement with regards to support for slavery reparations.

"These are the new elements in the global politics, in the global multilateral system, which will make a difference," he said.