High degree of respect for Serbia and Venezuela on key issues of national interest
At the press conference, Selaković expressed his satisfaction that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia was visiting Venezuela after 12 years, especially given the fact that the visit was made in the year in which Serbia and Venezuela celebrate the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
“During the long history of our diplomatic relations and despite the pressures in different historical periods, we have managed to preserve a high degree of mutual respect and appreciation on issues of key national interests,” said Selaković, noting that such mutual respect dated back to the Non-Aligned Movement.
Minister Selaković underlined that Serbia was particularly grateful for Venezuela's consistent support for Serbia's positions on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, given that it was an issue of first-class national importance.
“Non-interference in the internal affairs of states, preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the right to a sovereign policy and respect for international law and not the “right of the strongest”, remain the basic principles of implementing our state policy,” Selaković said.
The Minister indicated that he and his Venezuelan counterpart discussed issues of essential importance for both countries, the ways of strengthening cooperation in the fields of economy and tourism, as well as current regional and global opportunities.
Selaković expressed particular satisfaction that several very important agreements were signed today and expressed hope that those agreements would enable the two states and peoples to connect further.
The two ministers signed the Declaration on Political Consultation Mechanism Venezuela–Serbia, Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Tourism between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Serbia, Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Youth and Sports between the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of the People's Power for Youth and Sports of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, as well as
Interinstitutional Cooperation Agreement between the National Library of Serbia and the National Library of Venezuela.
“As Hugo Chávez once said – We will not make the great future that we are looking for if we do not know the great past that we had - in the same way our friendly cooperation during all these 140 years of diplomatic relations will represent the foundation of our future relations, which we continue to build today”, Minister Selaković concluded his address.
