Đurić: France has an affinity towards Serbia

09. Feb 2025.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Marko Đurić, stated today, at the beginning of his one-day visit to Paris, that it is very important for us that we have elevated our relations with France to the level of strategic partnership, as this country shows a favor towards Serbia, both in terms of European integration and other national issues.

Đurić told reporters in Paris, where he, along with the Minister of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation, Jelena Begović, is participating in the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), that this will be an opportunity for Serbia to present itself in a new light.

"It is phenomenal for us that in recent years, thanks to the initiative and diligent work of President Vučić and the entire team, we have truly elevated our relations with France to a strategic level. Our economic cooperation is such that trade amounts to billions of euros, our scientific cooperation, as we see through this GPAI summit, is growing. This is also a great opportunity for Serbia to present itself in a different light to the wider European and international public," Minister Đurić said.

Minister Đurić emphasized that it is very important that Serbia today sends a message that artificial intelligence should be a resource available to all, something that unites states and peoples, and something that should be founded on certain ethical principles.

"This is a very good opportunity to also promote Serbia as a country that has increased the share of IT in its GDP by eight times over the past decade," Đurić said.

The Serbian delegation will, as he added, in Paris, at a forum that gathers ministers from a large number of countries, also speak about the specialized exhibition Expo which we will host in 2027.

The head of Serbian diplomacy today also has a bilateral meeting with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, with whom, as announced, he will discuss deepening bilateral cooperation and many other topics.

"We will also discuss the overall situation, namely the European integrations of Serbia. I will speak with Mr. Barrot about what is happening in our country. Yesterday, you could hear that there were also talks between President Vučić and Macron, so these meetings will be an exchange at the national, official level," Minster Đurić stated.