Erdogan: This is golden age of Serbia-Turkey relations

BELGRADE - This is the "golden age" of Serbia-Turkey relations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Belgrade on Friday, noting that the relations were governed by economic relations.

At a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Palace of Serbia, Erdogan said his discussion with Vucic had also addressed regional cooperation and stability in the Western Balkans.

He said the relations between the two countries had been boosted by the opening of a Turkish consulate in Novi Pazar, southwestern Serbia, and an office in Nis, southern Serbia.

"Economic relations are what is governing our relations and, in the past two years, we achieved what we had expected - a trade volume worth over 2 bln dollars," Erdogan said.

He said he expected the number of Serbian tourists in Turkey to exceed that from 2022 and added that work was underway to enable travel with IDs only.

He said Turkish subcontractors in Serbia were working on 95 projects worth over 2 bln dollars in total and that the Turkish construction sector was employing 10,000 workers in Serbia who were contributing to the Serbian economy.

"We exchanged views and expectations regarding regional cooperation and again underlined the significance of peace and stability in the Balkans. As part of that, it is very important to have a common-sense approach when it comes to tensions between Kosovo and Serbia and all that has happened not long ago. We again confirmed our determination to protect stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina," he said.

He said Bosnia and Herzegovina was very vulnerable politically and added that that was a fact that needed to be taken into account - and changed - as soon as possible.

"I think Serbia will play a very constructive role, and I have underlined many times how constructive a role Serbia plays," Erdogan said.

He said bilateral agreements signed earlier in the day would further strengthen mutual contractual obligations.