Dacic meets with FMs of Singapore, Cambodia on sidelines of ASEAN summit

JAKARTA - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic met with the FMs of Singapore and Cambodia, Vivian Balakrishnan and Sok Chenda Sophea, on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN summit in Jakarta on Monday to discuss cooperation and advancement of relations.

Dacic thanked Singapore for supporting the process of Serbia's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, which he said would further strengthen the relations between the two countries, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Dacic and Balakrishnan noted that bilateral political relations between Serbia and Singapore were traditionally friendly and on an upward trajectory, and expressed the expectation that political dialogue would be stepped up further in the period to come.

They also said there was a strong interest in further comprehensive development of economic cooperation.

The ministers said they were pleased with cooperation at multilateral level and expressed interest in continued mutual support in international organisations.

Dacic congratulated Sophea on taking office as Cambodia's deputy PM and FM and expressed readiness to work on strengthening Serbia-Cambodia relations as well as on boosting Serbia's cooperation with ASEAN member states.

The parties agreed that bilateral political relations between Serbia and Cambodia were traditionally friendly and on an upward trajectory.

The ministers signed a MoU between the two countries' diplomatic academies to take diplomatic cooperation to a higher level through cooperation in training for diplomatic staff.

They said they expected political dialogue to be stepped up further in the period to come through exchanges of bilateral visits at high and the highest level, and discussed advancement of economic cooperation through direct cooperation between economic institutions and chambers of commerce of the two countries and advancement of cooperation in agriculture and the ICT sector.

Dacic thanked Cambodia for its principled and consistent support to the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and said he hoped it would be continued in the future as well.

The ministers said they were pleased with the successful cooperation at multilateral level and expressed interest in continued mutual support in international organisations and institutions.

Dacic thanked Cambodia for backing Serbia's efforts to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.