Slovenian president arrives on two-day visit to Serbia

Slovenian president arrives on two-day visit to Serbia

The two presidents agreed on Thursday that political relations between the two countries are exemplary and that there are no open issues, noting that economic ties have yet to gain new momentum.

Pahor expressed Slovenia's readiness to help Serbia on its path towards the EU.

"The relations are excellent, we are opening a new chapter in which we want the political relations to remain exemplary and economic ties to gain new momentum," Pahor said at a joint press conference with Nikolić.

Asked by Tanjug whether there are open issues between the countries and whether any were discussed during the meeting, Nikolić said that no open issues exist between Serbia and Slovenia.

"We talked about what separated us in the past - we do not agree with Slovenia's recognition of Kosovo, while they might disagree with us on the issue of imposing sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, but that cannot affect our relations," Nikolić said.

There are no open issues that could potentially hamper the development of bilateral relations, Pahor confirmed, adding that Slovenia is a major ally of Serbia on its European path and that his country is openly striving to enable Serbia to open the negotiating chapters in its EU accession talks with Brussels as soon as possible.

Slovenia has pledged full assistance to Serbia regarding its EU accession, and this applies to economic, technical and consulting assistance, Nikolić said.

He thanked Slovenia for what he said was the quickest possible reaction in providing unreserved assistance during the recent floods in Serbia.

Pahor expressed condolences to the families of the flood victims, adding that Slovenia and its people will help as much as they can.

The Slovenian president will also have separate meetings with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, Serbian Parliament Speaker Maja Gojković, and address MPs at a special parliament session.

Pahor will lay a wreath at the Monument to the Unknown Hero on Mt. Avala.

Slovenia's Minister of Finance Uroš Čufer, Defense Minister Roman Jakič and a delegation of around 100 business officials are accompanying the president on his trip to Serbia.

The second day of the visit will be dedicated to economic cooperation. There will be a roundtable discussion and meetings at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, which will be organized by the two countries' chambers of commerce and the Slovenian Business Club.

Pahor will also visit the flooded areas where Slovenian soldiers and policemen took part in rescue actions, and are now participating in the cleanup of the flood-hit areas.