September 24, 2022 

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selaković stated that the delegation of Serbia completed very intensive diplomatic activity in New York within the 77th UN General Assembly, that it held a total of 100 meetings on the sidelines of the session, and that 12 agreements, protocols and memoranda were signed with state representatives with whom he had the opportunity to meet.

Minister Selaković stated that the UN General Assembly was an opportunity to hold a series of meetings on the sidelines of the session with fellow foreign ministers from numerous countries around the world and with representatives of both the USA and their Congress, as well as representatives of the American-Jewish Committee, the Alliance of Civilizations, and also the World Economic Forum.

"When the final calculus of this year's UN General Assembly and the meetings on its sidelines is done, I can proudly say that a total of 100 meetings were held, of which 95 were with foreign ministers and five were with representatives of the American-Jewish Committee, the Alliance of Civilizations and the World Economic Forum." stated the head of Serbian diplomacy.

Minister Selaković emphasized that it was an excellent opportunity to affirm what our policy is, and that fellow foreign ministers from different countries were impressed at the meetings by the extraordinary address of President Aleksandar Vučić at the UN General Assembly.

"They were under the impression of that speech, a speech that confirmed consistent respect for international law, respect for the role of the UN and respect for the valid resolutions of the UN Security Council by Serbia, which is not a large country geographically and in terms of population, but a country that firmly believes that the commitment of small and medium countries to international law is our strongest ally in our fight for the protection of our vital state and national interests," stressed Minister Selaković.

As he reported, there were exceptional talks, both with the representatives of the countries that recognized the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, as well as those that did not and that once again confirmed their support and commitment to the protection of the vital principle of inviolability of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of internationally recognized UN member states.

"This year has been very challenging for the UN. Multilateralism is in a kind of crisis and for Serbia it is of vital importance that multilateralism returns to the scene, that the strengthened role of the UN returns to the scene and that our struggle for the protection of our state and national interests in Kosovo and Metohija, and precisely in the light of the struggle for respect for the application of international law, relevant UN decisions, such as Resolution 1244, remains what we will deal with and remains something that Serbia will fight for. Precisely this reaffirmation of the role of the UN is something that guarantees greater success in that fight," Minister Selaković said.

The head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that the meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session were an excellent opportunity to conclude a series of agreements, protocols and memoranda with the representatives of the countries he had the opportunity to meet with.

"We concluded a total of 12 agreements, memoranda and protocols, and today we ended this very intensive diplomatic activity by signing the Agreement on the abolition of visas for official and diplomatic passports with Senegal," Minister Selaković concluded.

Source/Photo: www.mfa.gov.rs