FM: Better ties with African Union states

FM: Better ties with African Union states

Former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito, one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, "had a major role and significance for African countries and we want to continue that tradition," Dacic said, adding that, for this reason, Serbia will attend future African Union meetings.

There is a long-standing friendship between Ethiopia and Serbia, and Serbia wants those relations to be as good as possible and develop faster, Dacic said.

"We want to have as many political visits and consultations as possible and develop economic cooperation, which can be better than it has been so far," the foreign minister said.

"I have come here as a friend to friends," Dacic noted.

As announced earlier, while in Addis Abeba, Dacic will meet with Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and other senior officials of the Commission, including Deputy Chairperson Erastus Mwencha and Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui.

Dacic also met with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom, as well as with the foreign ministers of Algeria, Angola, Morocco, Kenya and other African countries that Serbia "seeks to further improve bilateral relations and political dialogue, in particular economic cooperation, for which there are significant possibilities and a mutual interest."

Ethiopia thanked for not recognizing Kosovo

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic has met with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom in Addis Ababa.

During Sunday's meeting, Dacic thanked Adhanom for Ethiopia's principled position regarding the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Ethiopian foreign minister confirmed that Ethiopia will stand by its decision not to recognize the unilateral declaration of independence of Serbia's southern province, noting that Ethiopia's position is based on the principles of respect of international law and that his country respects Serbia's argumentation on the issue.

Dacic invited his Ethiopian counterpart to visit Serbia by the end of this year, and the Ethiopian foreign minister accepted Dacic's invitation with pleasure.

During the friendly conversation, the two ministers expressed mutual interest in improving bilateral economic cooperation.

As part of the visit to Ethiopia, Minister Dacic will attend the 26th session of the Executive Council of the African Union on Monday.