Serbia: Erdogan's visit to Belgrade extremely important

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Belgrade is extremely important for Serbia, the Serbian deputy foreign minister has said.

Nemanja Starovic told Radio Television of Serbia on Friday that Erdogan's visit is "a very important symbolism," and one that the Balkan country is "looking forward to."

"Personal relations and trust established between the two leaders, Aleksandar Vucic and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are a special quality to the relations of Türkiye and Serbia,” said Starovic.

Starovic said Erdogan could be the first head of state to visit Serbia's capital of Belgrade in Vucic's second presidential term.

“President Vucic and the President of Türkiye Erdogan represent the most important and significant statesmen of the Balkan peninsula with the strongest authority in the wider European and international framework.”

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had announced on Thursday that Erdogan is preparing for an official visit to Serbia in the coming weeks. 

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Friendly relations

"It is impossible to secure lasting peace, stability, and prosperity of the Balkan peninsula without good and meaningful relations on the Ankara-Belgrade relationship and this represents a good base for the political dialogue that is being held and intensified," said Starovic.

As a result of the friendly relations that Türkiye and Serbia enjoy, tourists and businesspeople frequently travel between the two countries.

Türkiye's AnadoluJet recently began flights from Ankara to Belgrade, while Türk Hava Yolları increased flights from Istanbul to the Balkan city to three per day.

Serbia and Türkiye have also signed numerous agreements to further develop relations from defence to the economy. Belgrade reaffirmed its intention to purchase Türkiye's Bayraktar TB2 combat drones.

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