Nikolić in Tunisia: Economic ties must be improved

Nikolić in Tunisia: Economic ties must be improved

After a meeting with Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, Nikolić told reporters that an agreement was reached for the two countries to embark on a more concrete political dialogue and strengthen the friendly ties between their two peoples by boosting economic cooperation.

"We can call this visit a historic one, because it marks the end of a period of absence of political dialogue at the highest level despite the fact that there are no open issues between the two countries and that there is no reason for us not to have more intense cooperation in many segments", Nikolić said.

The two countries have a history of friendship that spans over half a century, and these ties were established in the era of the Non-Aligned Movement and strengthened by the recognition of Tunisia shortly after its declaration of independence in 1956, Nikolić said.

He added that many bilateral and inter-state matters were discussed at Wednesday's meeting and that a conclusion was made that dialogue has been improved significantly at all levels.

Nikolić stressed that Serbia is particularly grateful for Tunisia's "principled stance" regarding the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija, adding that he expects that Tunisia will stand by its position.

However, Nikolić noted that economic cooperation is not on par with the excellent political relations.

"In 2013, bilateral trade amounted to only USD 39 million, accounting for just 0.1 percent of Serbia's total trade with all countries in the same period. Serbia is a politically stable and desirable country for foreign investments, and we are ready to establish cooperation by forming joint enterprises, in particular in production activities," the Serbian president noted.

Serbia is ready to offer Tunisia free access to markets through joint investments in Serbia as well as its know-how and expertise in many areas of the construction industry, Nikolić added.

He said that the two countries may operate together in other markets, since Serbia has signed free trade agreements with Russia, Turkey, Belarus and Kazakhstan as well as the CEFTA and EFTA agreements.

More than ever before, Tunisia is becoming more open diplomatically to different countries, Marzouki said, adding that it is important for Tunisia to have ties with countries of similar size.

We can have economic and political relations with those countries without any problems, and Serbia can be an excellent partner in this new strategy, he said.

I am fully confident that the political goodwill will be materialized by investors from both countries as well as by cultural relations and ties connecting the people, Marzouki said.

The start of events marking the centenary of World War I and the deep attachment of the Serbian people to Tunisians were important topics of the discussions, as was the role of allied nations in rescuing Serbian soldiers who suffered greatly during their retreat through Albania.

"The reaffirmed historical alliance with France, the hospitality of the Tunisian people as well as the fact that many Serbian soldiers were buried in Tunisia, remain deeply etched in the memory of the Serbian people," Nikolić said.

He thanked the Ministry of Defense and the Manouba National Military Museum for their support to the exhibition titled Serbs in North Africa in 1915-1919.

After the meeting, agreements on trade and road transport and transit of goods and people were signed, with a program on cooperation in education, science, culture and sports also agreed upon for the period between 2014 and 2016.