Djuric: Forging further ties with ASEAN countries is in Serbia's state and national interest

MANILA - Making an additional effort to forge ties with ASEAN countries is in Serbia's state and national interest, Serbian FM Marko Djuric said in Manila on Thursday, adding that, while they were geographically distant from Serbia, ASEAN member states were crucial for the future of humanity in the 21st century in many aspects - economically, politically, as well as demographically.

Djuric, who is in the Philippines for Friday's high-level conference of signatories of the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, said a Serbian delegation at the ASEAN summit in Manila had a very important mission with three main goals.

"The first one is to develop bilateral cooperation with the Philippines as a country of 124 million people and a growing economy that is set to become one of the top 20 economies in the world. This region, the ASEAN region, is a region with which Serbia has an economic exchange that exceeded 1.3 bln euros last year, and we want to hold discussions and advance our relations with the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia - countries of a region that is one of the strongest engines of the global economy," Djuric said.

He noted that, to an extent, Serbia had lost permanent presence in the Philippines and the region in the past 30 years.

Djuric said he was glad he would attend the ASEAN summit at the invitation of his Philippine counterpart Maria Theresa Lazaro and meet with her, as well as other FMs from the region.

He noted that his visit to the Philippines was the first trip to Southeast Asia by a Serbian FM in 16 years.

"The other important goal of our mission is to try to get more countries to participate in the EXPO, since all these countries have rich traditions in both culture and sports, as we know that the EXPO slogan (Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All) has to do with those areas, as well as with things that go far beyond that," Djuric said.

He noted that the third goal was to affirm strong support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia in Southeast Asia.

Djuric noted that, in even more difficult times, the region had stood with Belgrade when it comes to Kosovo-Metohija, supporting the integrity of Serbia.