New Zealand seeks support for UNSC seat bid

New Zealand seeks support for UNSC seat bid

"We agreed to raise the level of our political dialogue," Dačić said, adding that this implies exchanges of visits and a simplified visa procedure for Serbian citizens.

An estimated 10,000 Serbian citizens live in New Zealand, Dačić said, noting that Serbia has already scrapped visas for citizens of New Zealand.

McCully said that the New Zealand government has decided to introduce a facilitated visa regime for Serbian citizens from July 5.

"There are no contentious or open issues between Serbia and New Zealand," the Serbian foreign minister said, adding that the Serbian government attaches great importance to McCully's visit as it is the first by a New Zealand minister "since the normalization of the ties between the two countries in the 1990s."

The level of bilateral trade is very low as it amounts to USD 1.5 million, but there is room for improvement, Dačić said.

"There are many common interests that we could realize in the coming period, in particular because both Serbia and New Zealand are relatively small countries that are seeking places for themselves on the global political scene, and countries that definitely cannot influence the resolution of major crises," he said.

On behalf of the New Zealand government, McCully expressed condolences over the catastrophic floods that recently hit Serbia, adding that his country has donated USD 150,000 for flood victims.

The two ministers announced that their countries will soon exchange honorary consuls.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić also received McCully on Monday, and the two officials "discussed Serbia’s European integration, bilateral relations and New Zealand's bid for a seat on the UN Security Council," said a statement.

The officials stated that bilateral cooperation between the two countries is good but there were areas with opportunities for improvement, such as economic cooperation. Vučić sent invitation to his counterpart Prime Minister John Kane to visit Serbia.

McCully "called for Serbia's support of New Zealand’s bid for a non-permanent UNSC seat for the period 2015-2016. New Zealand is a candidate for one of the two seats, along with Spain and Turkey," the Serbian government said.

Vučić "thanked for all the words of condolence New Zealand had sent Serbia in the wake of the May flooding."

Vučić also "informed the guest about Serbia’s European integration process and possibilities of opening certain chapters of the acquis."