May 25, 2022

The President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić attended the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at the Swiss city of Davos. During his two-day stay in Davos, President Vučić participated in the Diplomatic Dialogue session on the Western Balkans, as well as in the discussion on establishing peace, restoring growth and achieving sustainability.

President Vučić conveyed that the dominant topic of the gathering in Davos was Ukraine, as well as that important topics were the upcoming winter and issues of energy, food and sustainability. "It is important to hear what the plans are, until when the reference rates will increase, how they will play the game between growth and saving Europe from inflation, as well as what Serbia can do to keep the growth rate above average," he said. President Vučić added that the topic of the Ukrainian crisis prevailed over all other topics, that huge support for Ukraine was noticeable, without the possibility of hearing anything else. "You used to be able to hear various different things here, Xi Jinping and Angela Merkel also came, and now Davos has become a dominant place exclusively of the Western orientation. Everything else can be discussed, but within the given framework" said President Vučić. He pointed out that he had good meetings in Davos with numerous European and world officials, adding that he spoke honestly and openly about the problems.

President Vučić participated in the session Diplomatic Dialogue on the Western Balkans and told reporters that Serbia is on its way to the EU and is grateful for the support it received from it, but that it is necessary to understand our position, and not just to keep repeating what is expected from Serbia. "The point is that I was honest, open, talked about problems, pointed out a different view of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina than most of those present, as well as different attitudes towards Kurti," said President Vučić, adding that he could not reveal the details, but that completely different visions of the future of the Balkans were presented. He pointed out that there is trust between Belgrade, Skopje and Tirana, that economic cooperation is growing and everything, as he said, is going in the right direction.

President Vučić stated that on the sidelines of the meeting he also talked with the President of the Republic of Northern Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, and briefly with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković. In Davos, the President also met with the Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović and invited him to join the meeting of the "Open Balkans" initiative in Ohrid.

At this year's forum, President Vučić also had bilateral meetings with world officials, representatives of financial institutions and leading companies in the world. "I talked a lot about how we can position ourselves in the world today, and I also talked with the head of the American Exim Bank, about a big loan in the future for significant energy projects, for solar and later hydro projects. "It was a great meeting, short but concrete. I believe we will soon come up with concrete plans", said President Vučić.

During his stay in Davos, Serbian President Vučić also met with the founder and executive director of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, with whom he discussed bilateral relations and the global situation.

Davos, May 25, 2022