Dacic: FTA with China historic, to be greatly beneficial

BEIJING - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic said in Beijing on Tuesday a Serbia-China FTA signed earlier in the day was historic and would be greatly beneficial to the people of Serbia in the decades to come.

"Today's event completes everything that has been done in the past 10-11 years and this is really a historic event for Serbia, not only economically, but also when it comes to our foreign policy position," Dacic told reporters.

He said that, at the beginning of a meeting with Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, Chinese President Xi Jinping had said China and Serbia would be supporting each other.

"China's support when it comes to our key issues, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo-Metohija, is vital to us. The great friendship that exists between our two presidents was visible and, irrespective of the fact we are talking about the economy, trade and agriculture, it is very important to say China will stand with us firmly also in very difficult international circumstances when it comes to our issues," Dacic said, noting that Beijing's support was also vital ahead of next week's UN Security Council session on Kosovo-Metohija as China was a permanent UN SC member.