Djuric: Historic day for Serbia-Israel relations, we have launched strategic dialogue

JERUSALEM - This is a historic day for Serbia-Israel relations as the two countries have launched strategic dialogue that is multiply beneficial to Serbia, FM Marko Djuric said in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

"This is multiply beneficial to Serbia since Israel is a country that is among the world's most technologically and economically developed countries, and politically positioned so that it is in a great relationship with the US and a large part of the Western civilisation, as well as with many other countries on various continents," Djuric said in a statement to reporters.

He said the strategic dialogue included many fields in bilateral cooperation between the two countries and noted that, when it comes to the economy, Serbia was in talks with Israel about concluding a FTA.

"Today, we made another step forward and I can say that, with the opening of the strategic dialogue, we can really count on this country as a dependable and consistent partner," he said.

He added that his discussions with Israeli government officials had addressed ways to advance bilateral relations further.

Djuric said he and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed the historical, centuries-long friendship between their two nations.

He added that they had spoken about numerous topics and reviewed the situation in the Western Balkan region and the Middle East, as well as ways in which Serbia and Israel could advance their relations further across all spheres.

Djuric noted that the present Serbia-Israel partnership was pragmatic and based on mutual interests.