The depth of friendship between the two peoples is the basis for the strength of political and economic relations

Al Ahram Newspaper
Monday, May 17th, 2021

Yugoslav Vukadinovic, Ambassador of Serbia in Cairo, stressed the necessity of continuing efforts between Egypt and Serbia to enhance the horizons of bilateral cooperation between the two countries in all fields, stressing the depth of friendship ties between the Egyptian Serbian peoples and the leaderships of the two countries, which forms the basis for the strength of the political and economic relations between the two countries.

In exclusive statements to Al-Ahram, on the occasion of the 113th anniversary of relations between Cairo and Belgrade, the ambassador welcomed President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's visit to Serbia as soon as possible, noting that the Republic of Serbia and its government will continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation efforts in all fields.
The ambassador expected to hold a meeting of the Egyptian-Serbian joint committee, immediately after the end of the blessed Eid al-Fitr holiday, explaining that the meeting would be an excellent opportunity to discuss various issues and prospects for cooperation between the two countries during the coming period.
The ambassador said that the history of Egyptian-Serbian friendship goes back to the beginning of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1908, when the first diplomatic office of the Kingdom of Serbia was opened in Egypt, as the historical relations between Egypt and Serbia go back to the advanced middle ages, in the first decade of the second century, Saint Sava, the brother of King Stephen the First, visited Egypt during his trip to the holy places in the East, including Sinai and Cairo, where he met Al Malek Al Kamel the Egyptian Sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty, who received him, hosted and gifted him a great honor from the Egyptian state, as provided St Sava, with all the needs of his trip, in addition to valuable gifts.
The Serbian ambassador said: "We are now working on a joint project that aims to make the year 2035 the year of the celebration of the eight centuries since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Serbia."

On the measures taken by the Republic of Serbia to confront the challenge of the Covid 19 virus and its impact on the tourism sector, the ambassador stated that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic recently indicated that Serbia is the first country in Europe in terms of economic growth, thanks to the economic reform measures taken since 2014, and that the rapid opening up of the country quickly returned after the first wave of the virus, expressing his belief that the next year will be better than the previous year, as the Corona virus will be defeated through the vaccination of citizens, which has already begun. The ambassador continued: With the establishment of a Serbian-Egyptian economic union, he suggested coordination with the Governor of the Red Sea, Major General Amr Hanafi, to visit Serbia, which reflects the existence of a wide area between the two countries in the current period for further strengthening of economic, cultural and tourism cooperation.

In the same context, and in an effort to revitalize and support the Serbian tourism movement to the famous Egyptian tourist resorts, Vukadinovic said that during the period from last April 11th to 17th, a delegation of 100 Serbian doctors visited Hurghada, and met their Egyptian counterparts to exchange experiences, and discussed ways of cooperation between the two countries in the medical sector, how to deal with the Corona pandemic, and what is related to the exchange of tourist visits between the two countries in safety and peace.

In the same context, Vukadinovic said that the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia hosted at its headquarters an important event in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, with the aim of conducting a test for Egyptian applicants to work as tour guides between Egypt and Serbia, where a specialized committee from the embassy tested their information in the Serbian language before granting them an accredited license to practice tourist guidance.