Djuric: I hope 2027 will be year of record scope of Serbia-US cooperation

BELGRADE - Serbia-US relations have made a step forward, entering a strategic stage, Serbian caretaker FM Marko Djuric said on Thursday, adding that he hoped 2027 would be a year of a record scope of Serbia-US cooperation in the economy, education and the military sector.

Djuric was speaking at an international conference hosted by the Serbian-American Friendship Congress in the Serbian parliament building.

"We would like to see, and welcome, the US president, the state secretary and other top officials in Belgrade; we will be honoured to welcome US representatives at the EXPO and, first of all, I want our American friends to feel at home here in Serbia and Belgrade," Djuric said.

Under the leadership of Presidents Aleksandar Vucic and Donald Trump, US-Serbia relations have made a serious step forward in recent years, he said.

"I think that, truly, a step forward has been made in the strategic sense, and that the launch of strategic dialogue has marked the start of a new chapter in Serbia-US cooperation. I am confident the best time of Serbia-America cooperation and relations is ahead of us," he added.

"On this very day, we need to remind ourselves of the positive role the partnership between Serbia and Ohio State has played in this partnership. We are marking 20 years of the partnership between Serbia and Ohio State, which has completely transformed the image of a Serbian soldier in America, but also, I would say, the image of an American soldier here in Serbia," Djuric said.

Through synergetic action, the two countries have succeeded in building trust, partnership and personal friendships between officers and between soldiers, he said.

"We have succeeded in contributing to building interoperability between our armed forces - that is, to a better capability of responding to challenges together, taking part in international missions and in exercises such as those held in Serbia this year, as well as those held in the US in the form of training for our armed forces personnel in collaboration with the Ohio National Guard," Djuric said.