Yerevan: Friendly and historical ties between Serbia and Armenia

Ambassador Panajotović-Cvetković spoke about the history of the development of the ties between Serbia and Armenia and the current status of bilateral relations between the two countries, including the plans for further development of cooperation. She noted that the friendly and historical ties between the Serbian and the Armenian peoples provided an excellent foundation for the development of their diplomatic relations. She underlined that, according to the existing data, contacts between the two countries had been established at the beginning of the 13^th century, when Saint Sava, the first Serbian Archbishop of the Nemanjić dynasty, travelled to Cilician Armenia. And, the fact that both countries had been on the trade route between the East and the West, that  Serbian literary works were published by the Armenian Mechitarists in Vienna in the 19^th century, and given the humanitarianism and solidarity from the time of the tragic earthquake in Armenia in 1988 when seven Serbian pilots were killed in the humanitarian aid delivery mission, further contributed to the strengthening of the friendship between the two peoples.

Ambassador Panajotović-Cvetković also referred to the key points in the development of diplomatic relations in the last few years, with an emphasis on the opening of the Serbian Embassy in Armenia at the end of 2019, mutual abolition of visa requirements, and providing humanitarian aid from Serbia to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. She discussed the development plans for the upcoming period, especially related to strengthening political dialogue and the expected visit of the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs to Armenia, the holding of the session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, the strengthening of business ties and economic cooperation in the field of information technologies, agriculture, tourism, pharmaceutical industry, etc.

Ambassador Panajotović-Cvetković outlined the plans for organising cultural events and exhibitions, student exchange, i.e. the opportunity for Armenian students to study at the Serbian universities within the World in Serbia programme. She also spoke about the plans for cooperation in the field of publishing, cinematography, and sports, aimed at making Serbia more widely recognised in Armenia and at achieving a greater rapprochement between the two nations.