Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in Ankara after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that they had extremely productive discussions on all specific issues, reports TANYUG.
Vucic announced that he expects in May or June this year. Erdogan to visit the Serbian capital Belgrade and the city of Novi Pazar - one of the centers of the historical and geographical region of Serbia Sandzak, where Bosniaks who practice Islam live, reports BTA correspondent in Belgrade Teodora Encheva.
“We understand well the political importance and role of Turkey in the economy, the military industry and in every other segment of society“, Vucic said at a joint press conference with Erdogan.
The Serbian president said that the two countries discussed a large number of infrastructure projects, including the modernization of the Belgrade-Nis railway line, on which work will begin soon, as well as strengthening political and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Vucic said that Turkish companies are involved in numerous road infrastructure projects in Serbia and that the acceleration of construction works, as well as the project for the modernization of the railway, were discussed during the meeting. line.
He pointed out that Turkish citizens are currently the most numerous tourists in Serbia and thanked them for their interest.
Speaking on regional issues, Vučić supported Turkish President Erdogan's initiative to form a “Balkan Peace Platform“, assessing that such a format can contribute to maintaining stability and solving problems through dialogue.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that they discussed how relations between the Balkan countries could be improved.
Erdogan said that Turkey is working to ensure peace and stability in the region and beyond “at a time of growing global uncertainty“, stressing that Ankara “never neglects the Balkans“.
The Turkish president said that trade exchange with Serbia is $3.5 billion and that the goal is to reach $5 billion - a figure that he said the two countries are approaching.
“We confirmed that we will participate in EXPO 2027 (in Belgrade). In 2015, 100 Turkish companies were operating in Serbia, now there are over 1,000 Turkish companies operating in Serbia“, Erdogan said.
He expressed his expectation that Serbian investors will come to Turkey and pointed out that Turkey is the second most popular destination for Serbian tourists.
“We talked about increasing the number of flights. We also talked about learning Turkish in Serbia. "We see Sandzak (a region in Serbia that is predominantly inhabited by a Muslim population) as a bridge of friendship between Serbia and Turkey," Erdogan said.
He congratulated Muslims in Serbia on the holy month of Ramadan.