Approved, Serbia enters the alliance

Approved, Serbia enters the alliance

The countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) unanimously approved Serbia's accession request to the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

The decision was made at the 56th plenary meeting of foreign ministers of that organization in Jakarta, which ended today.

Established in 1976, the Treaty aims to create political stability and security in Southeast Asia, ensuring the peaceful settlement of disputes between countries, announced the press service of the Government of Serbia.

Access to this agreement opens opportunities for the Republic of Serbia for closer dialogue, cooperation and inclusion in various ASEAN networks and platforms. At the same time, the accession to that Agreement will additionally contribute to the promotion of essential cooperation in economic and socio-cultural areas of Serbia with this block.

The most important areas of ASEAN cooperation with the countries that signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia are, among others, economic cooperation, education and the development of people-to-people contacts, science, technology and innovation and sustainable development, while ASEAN develops cooperation with certain countries in other specific areas of cooperation.

This includes participation in ASEAN meetings, dialogues and initiatives, which can contribute to diplomatic, economic and cultural exchanges.

By committing to the principles set forth in the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, such as respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all peoples, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and peaceful settlement of disputes, the Republic of Serbia will through another legal binding mechanism prove its fundamental commitment to peace, stability, international law and multilateralism, it was stated in the announcement.

Serbia submitted a formal request for accession to the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in 2013. Through diplomatic efforts, the unequivocal support of all 10 ASEAN member states for Serbia's accession to this Agreement was secured.

Among the signatory countries of the Treaty are all the great powers, numerous countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America (China 2003, India 2003, Japan 2004, Pakistan 2004, Russian Federation 2004, France 2006, USA 2009, Canada 2009, Turkey 2010, EU 2012, UK 2012, etc.).

Germany (2019), as well as the Republic of South Africa, Colombia and Cuba (2020), Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine (2022) have joined the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in recent years.

In 2022, Serbia achieved a total exchange of 710 million dollars with ten ASEAN members. There is every possibility that the growth trend in trade exchange with ASEAN member states will continue dynamically in the coming years. By 2030, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is expected to become the world's fourth largest economy.

The member states of this organization, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam and Myanmar, voted in favor of Serbia's accession to the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.