Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met on Tuesday in Jerusalem with his Serbian counterpart, Marko Đurić, at the Foreign Ministry.
The two held a strategic dialogue between their countries, with the participation of security and intelligence officials from both sides. Following the meeting, the ministers delivered a joint press statement.
Đurić, who has deep Jewish roots, chose to address the Israeli public directly in Hebrew. “Dear friends, I am very happy to be here today and I want to say thank you very much for the warm welcome I received, together with everyone who came with me. I want everyone in Israel to know that in Serbia and in Belgrade, you have true friends," he said.
He stressed that the friendship between the countries is longstanding and not limited to recent years. “This is not only from 1948, it is much older, and we stand with you in this difficult time. We understand very well everything you are going through. We went through many terrible things in the 1990s and afterward," he added.
Đurić expressed optimism about strengthening bilateral ties. “I am very happy that today we are reinforcing our relations, that we have discussed the future, and I am sure that in the future our relations will grow stronger and stronger."
Turning to Sa’ar, he said: “I want to say thank you, and also thank you to you and everyone in the government for what you have managed to do for the hostages. I truly feel at home here."