News from Berlin – On October 13th, there was an official meeting held in Belgrade, Serbia between Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt.

The focus of their meeting was mainly to promote bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Germany, particularly in agriculture and also on how to strengthen their regional relations. In the official Serbian government’s press release, Vučić said that he is pleased about Serbian cooperation with Germany so far, but also sees sectors where possibilities for further improvements are possible.

The Prime Minister Aleksander Vučić also took time to officially thank Germany for their help in dealing with the consequences of the mass flooding that had occur in May this year. Germany was among the first ones that reached out to Serbia and offered appreciable financial aid. Still today, despite the help they have already offered, Germany is prepared to provide an assistance to Serbia in order to repair the damage and donate half a million euros for a project that helps to repair the damage caused in the forest industry and to help prevent future flooding.

Germany is also interested in investing in Serbia, especially in the food industry. In the words of Serbian politician Snežana Bogosavljević-Bošković, ‘the visit was of great importance for Serbia’. This is because it confirms the strong and stable relations between the two countries, which were facilitated by good cooperation mostly related to agriculture and environment protection.

At the meeting they also touched upon the subject of Serbia’s start of negotiations on joining the European Union. The Serbian official thanked Minister Schmidt for Germany’s strong support to Serbia’s EU integration and cooperation in the harmonization of Serbia’s legislation with the EU laws.

The German Federal Minister was also taken for an official tour around a kindergarten in Obrenovac, a small town in North of Serbia, which was repaired from the funds donated by Germany.

News from Berlin – Berlin Global