First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic signed today with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia Abshir Omar Jama a Memorandum of Understanding between the two ministries on cooperation and consultations.
After the meeting with Jama, Dacic said at a joint press conference that there is a traditional friendship between Serbia and Somalia dating back to the time of the Non-Aligned Movement, but also that the relations between the two countries are not sufficiently developed on the political, economic and cultural level. That is why we made the decision to intensify our relations, he pointed out, saying that Serbia respects the territorial integrity of Somalia and vice versa and that the two countries will cooperate in all international organisations on that line and in that direction.
The First Deputy Prime Minister stated that the economic cooperation between Serbia and Somalia is at a very low level, which is why there is a need to achieve a greater connection between the business communities. He reported that at today’s meeting it was agreed to increase the number of scholarships for Somali students in Serbia, recalling that 20 scholarships for students from that country have been used so far.
Dacic noted that it was agreed to achieve the best possible cooperation in military education, military health sectors, as well as in military training and education. This was a very useful meeting, the opening of a new era in our relations, Dacic said, and he especially welcomed the fact that Somalia opened an embassy in Serbia.
Jama said that Serbia is a wonderful country and the Serbian people friendly, and assessed that this visit is a continuation of the historical relations between the two countries, which were excellent until the beginning of the 90s, before the war in Somalia began.
He added that Somalia benefited from that cooperation in all sectors, including the areas of expert relations, army training, healthcare and others, adding that the country still has experts who were educated in Serbia. I am here to rekindle that wonderful collaboration.
I want to enable all sectors to develop and use the skills and opportunities of this country. I would like to connect our health sectors and on this occasion I would like to thank them for the support provided by the government of Serbia even before this visit, said Jama.
