Embassy of The Republic of Serbia in the State of Kuwait

Book of condolence

Book of condolence

Following the tragic loss of lives at the “Vladislav Ribnikar” Elementary School shooting in Belgrade on 3 May 2023, the Government of Serbia has declared three days of national mourning, from 5 May to 7 May 2023.

The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia is grateful for all the messages of support we have received.

A book of condolence will open at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia to the state of Kuwait.

Adress

Bayan,Block No.13, Street No. 1, Villa No 18.

Members of the public who wish to leave written tributes can do so during the following opening hours:

7 May 2023 11.00 – 14.00

Please be advised that visitors to the Embassy will be subject to security checks.

Selakovic: Great potentials for the development of cooperation with Bahrain

8 December 2021

Selakovic: Great potentials for the development of cooperation with Bahrain

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic had a meeting today with Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain Ahmed Al-Saati.

Minister Selakovic expressed satisfaction with the level of relations between the two countries and the fact that in the previous period, owing to the visit by President Aleksandar Vucic to Bahrain, but also frequent meetings of officials on the sidelines of multilateral events, a quality and substantial political dialogue had been established.

In this context, Selakovic pointed out that the regular exchange of high-level visits was of great importance for the further enhancement of comprehensive bilateral relations, especially in the economic field where great untapped potentials existed.

According to the Minister, there were significant opportunities for promoting economic cooperation between the two countries, because the current trade in goods was still modest, given the potentials of the two economies.

Selakovic informed his interlocutor about the economic results that Serbia achieved in the past seven years, emphasizing that our country was also the absolute regional leader in attracting foreign investments.

Minister Selakovic expressed special gratitude for the fact that the Kingdom of Bahrain sent more than 67.5 tons of medical equipment to Serbia in January 2021, including 20 ventilators, which was the largest single donation our country received since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic.

Selakovic added that today, following this and similar examples, Serbia endeavoured to show solidarity and to help friendly countries within the scope of its capacities, including the countries of the Middle East.

Minister Selakovic thanked Ambassador Al-Saati, who is covering Serbia on a non-residential basis from Moscow, for heading the Bahraini delegation at the commemorative event held in October this year to mark the 60th anniversary of the First Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement.

UNESCO’s role extremely important for preservation of Serbian heritage in Kosovo and Metohija

12 November 2021

UNESCO’s role extremely important for preservation of Serbian heritage in Kosovo and Metohija

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated today that severe examples of endangering the Serbian cultural, historical and spiritual heritage in Kosovo and Metohija are proof of the important role of UNESCO in protecting and preserving heritage.

At the 41st session of the General Conference of UNESCO in Paris, Brnabic emphasized that four jewels of the Serbian medieval cultural heritage in Kosovo – Visoki Decani, Pec Patriarchate, Gracanica and Bogorodica Ljeviska, have been preserved thanks to the fact that they are inscribed on the endangered world heritage list. Hundreds of other sites and monuments are endangered.

The Serbian heritage in Kosovo and Metohija is of immeasurable importance, not only for the national identity of Serbia, but also as a part of the esteemed European and world heritage, she underlined.

Source/Photo: www.srbija.gov.rs

Address of the President of the Republic of Serbia at the United Nations climate change conference COP26 held in Glasgow

2nd November 2021

Address of the President of the Republic of Serbia at the United Nations climate change conference COP26 held in Glasgow

"Your Excellences,
distinguished delegates,
dear Sarah,

At the very beginning, I feel obliged to thank Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Her Majesty’s Government for exceptional hospitality.

I feel privileged to represent the Republic of Serbia at this important place and at the highest-level world forum, in working on the most important topic of today – promoting climate awareness.

We all agree that we must make investment into climate and environment.

We all, likewise agree, that future generations must be educated in order not to repeat the mistakes we made, by hurting the only Planet that makes life possible.

I am very honoured that the Republic of Serbia is co-chairing this year’s Conference as a Non-EU representative of the Eastern Europe Group.

In concrete terms, we see the special contribution of our expert team in finalising negotiations on the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which refers to the establishment of the global market and non-market mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as to remaining provisions referring to advanced transparency framework and common timeframes for Nationally Determined Contributions, which are the key provisions of the Agreement that have not yet been covered by the decision that is to be adopted by the Conference, i.e. all member states.

We, therefore, believe that this is an exceptional opportunity for Serbia to give its full contribution to the finalization of negotiations, which, we hope, will secure full implementation of the Paris Agreement.

As a result of strong economic development, modelled for Serbia by 2050, the impact of the implementation of climate measures to employment will be optimal, through new jobs creation and creation of new industries which have not existed so far.

One billion euros was raised at the first green bonds auction in Serbia, which clearly confirms the trust of international investors in our green agenda, but also to the economic and political stability of our country.

Incomes from green bonds issuance will be used for financing renewables, energy efficiency, sustainable water management, prevention of pollution and circular economy development and biodiversity preservation.

And as you can see, dear friends, my people made a terrific speech for me, but I am going to add a few more words and a few more questions for those that are coming from big powers and that haven’t answered yet several questions:

Number one is: how are we going to finance all these activities?

We’ve heard the story of trillions of dollars that are at our disposal. My question would be: what would be the interest rate, what would be the terms for taking these amounts of money, and actually how are we going to tackle that issue?

Number two: how are we going to treat the nuclear power plants? Are we going to shut them all or are we going to build them more?

Then, how are we going to build more renewables if we already started endorsing populist movements against wind parks, new hydropower plants, and are we going to put in jeopardy the level of our public debt to GDP ratio if we raise huge amounts of money?

How are we going to treat natural gas, and how are we going to secure decent prices of natural gas and electricity power as well?

And, I came here using an electric car from Edinburgh to Glasgow. But, how are we going to do mining and refining of lithium, nickel, cobalt and many other very important minerals?

In the end, we all know what is our final aim, what is our final target. But, it’s not a fairytale – we’ll have to work a lot, we’ll have to be 100 per cent dedicated, and we’ll have to be more honest with each other.

The health of people living in Serbia depends directly on the implementation of this Agenda, just like the health and life of each living being on Earth depends on arrangements that will be reached here and on national implementation of the respective arrangements.

Perhaps it is the right time to listen and hear the cry of Mother Earth because if we lose this race against time, our children will inherit an irreparably polluted Planet.

Thank you very much for listening to me."

Source: www.predsednik.rs
Photo: Dimitrije Goll

Telephone conversation of President Vučić and General Secretary of NATO

26 September 2021

Telephone conversation of President Vučić and General Secretary of NATO

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has discussed today by phone with the General Secretary of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg about, as the General Secretary said, worrisome situation in northern Kosovo and Metohija.

President Vučić said that Serbia had not violated either Brussels Agreement or Resolution 1244 by anything, by any single move or in any manner jeopardized peace preservation.

“The complete occupation by armored vehicles of northern Kosovo and Metohija has lasted for seven days and it is conducted by Priština and everyone in the international community “are thunderously silent”, said Serbian President. “However, everyone is worried all of a sudden when they spot Serbian helicopters and airplanes at the territory of central Serbia, because apparently they should not exist, or should not take off until they receive the approval from Kurti or someone from the international community”, says President Vučić.

Serbia observes all international agreements it signed, Serbia will always conduct responsibly and seriously, but Serbia is still asking when the formation of SMC will start and when Kurti’s armored units will be withdrawn from northern Kosovo and Metohija.

Finally, with the gratitude to General Secretary Stoltenberg for the fair relation and wish to listen to the Serbian side, President Vučić asked about the norm and international regulation violated by Serbia? Today, yesterday or any time?

The two interlocutors agreed to stay in constant touch due to necessity of the preservation of peace and stability in the entire region.

Source/Photo: www.predsednik.rs

Historical and solid connections of Serbia and Kuwait

23 September 2021

Historical and solid connections of Serbia and Kuwait

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, has discussed in New York today with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait, sheik Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah.

The interlocutors confirmed that Serbia and Kuwait are characterized by historical and solid connections during 60 years of bilateral relations.

The Serbian Foreign Minister expressed the readiness of Serbia to work on strengthening of bilateral cooperation with Kuwait in the fields of mutual interest, especially economy.

The interlocutors expressed the interest to initiate at the level of ministers of foreign affairs as soon as possible the operation of Inter-governmental Commission for Economic Cooperation.

Selaković added that the intensification of the political dialog of two ministries and exchange of high-level visits would contribute to strengthening of cooperation and invited his colleague to the official visit to Serbia. Minister Al-Sabah accepted the invitation and confirmed the interest to realize this visit in the following month.

Furthermore, Selaković expressed satisfaction because Kuwait, as a member country of the Non-Allied Movement, at the forthcoming event in Belgrade, on the occasion of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Belgrade conference, would be represented by Minister Al-Sabah.

The Minister informed his colleague from Kuwait also on the success of economic reforms of Serbia in previous seven years.

Prime Minister Brnabic at Global COVID-19 summit organised by White House

22 September 2021

Prime Minister Brnabic at Global COVID-19 summit organised by White House

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic participated today at the Global COVID-19 summit, organised by the White House, which was opened by US President Joseph Biden.

The video messages are attended by a large number of world leaders and officials of international organizations, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British and Canadian Prime Ministers, Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and many others.

In the message, the Prime Minister pointed out that Serbia was among the first European countries to procure a covid vaccine, and that she was the first European Prime Minister to receive the vaccine.

Thanks to years of investment in digitalisation and development of eGovernment, we have managed to organise a complicated and complex vaccination process very efficiently and in a way that it is focused on citizens, she explained.

However, as she added, from the very beginning we were aware that this is not just a matter of our citizens and only our struggle. In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all safe or no one is safe.

That is why, in addition to procuring vaccines for our citizens, we donated vaccines to the citizens of the Western Balkans, but also to other countries, she reminded and specified that Serbia donated 230,000 doses of vaccines to the region, we vaccinated foreign citizens in Serbia with approximately 300,000 doses and set aside we have 570,000 doses of vaccines for countries in Africa and Asia.

Brnabic mentioned that Serbia has already started the production of covid vaccine from one manufacturer, and that it will start production from another by the end of the year, because in that way we want to help and support all people and countries that need vaccines.

This is a pandemic in which we will either win together or lose together, but we must fight together, the Prime Minister repeated.

That is why Serbia supports the goals of this global summit, she emphasised, and expressed her gratitude to the United States of America and President Biden for organising the summit and supporting joint efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vaccines are the only way out in the fight against the pandemic, concluded Brnabic.

Marking the Remembrance Day of all Serbs who died and were expelled in the armed operation "Storm

5 August 2021

Marking the Remembrance Day of all Serbs who died and were expelled in the armed operation "Storm"

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, attended the marking of the Remembrance Day of all the victims and expelled Serbs in the armed operation "Storm" and said that Serbia remembers!

"Today, when we remind ourselves again of what happened in August 1995, the terrible pogrom, the expulsion of more than 250,000 Serbs, the exodus and ethnic cleansing, we, at the same time, and finally, remind ourselves of who we are, what we are, where we come from and where we are going. Thank you all for being here together tonight and for showing how much we love our people", said President Vučić, adding that we will not forget any of the things that the Krajina people had to go through.

"For us, these are not just terrible numbers of victims", said President Vučić and emphasized that Serbia will not forget.

"History has never been rewritten like today. That is why I want to remind us all not only of what others have done to us, not wanting us to exist, but also of what we have done to ourselves, just as if we ourselves did not want to exist", said the President, noting that we must never again allow Serbia to forget its silent heroes.

President Vučić emphasized that we must never again cover our eyes, ears, and mouths in front of something that truly was a pogrom and the downfall of all humanity.

"Pretending that this is not true, avoiding saying it, is a crime not only against the victims, but also against ourselves, every living Serb, people from Krajina, as well as Serbia and its future", said President Vučić and underlined that people can stand up straight and live with themselves and the others without hesitation, fear and doubt, only if they remember.

President Vučić pointed out that Serbia must fight for peace and cradles with children, as well as that not remembering annuls and erases us from the history and the future, depriving us of the right to tomorrow.

"Our mission is a happy future for us and for the new generations! Today's Serbia is based on a clear identity and a culture of remembrance", said President Vučić and reminded that everything that had been neglected for decades had been done, and that a strong Serbia has become the master of its own destiny.

"Eternal glory to you, Serbian martyrs who perished in the "Storm" and all other pogroms. Your children are in their Serbia, taken care of, loved and successful. Sleep peacefully, Serbian falcons, the future of your children is our vow", concluded President Vučić and thanked everyone who showed that night how much they love their country and that Serbia remembers.

Source: www.predsednik.rs
Photo: www.predsednik.rs

Serbia has achieved great success in the field of digitalization

20 July 2021

Serbia has achieved great success in the field of digitalization

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, stated at a gathering dedicated to digitalization and the IT sector, which was held in New York, that since she became Prime Minister, she is most proud of Serbia's success in the field of digitalization.

Brnabić, who is on a two-day visit to the United States, said that when she was elected Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government in August 2016, she wanted to do everything to change the public administration and what bothered her as a citizen.

She stated that, when she took office as Prime Minister, she knew what her priorities were and that first of all, digitalization needed to be raised to a higher level, that the education reform was supposed to begin, as well as work on strengthening the economy.

I believed in a country that believes in its people, because the Serbian people are creative. From 1 June 2017, we started working as an e-Government, i.e. we started exchanging data electronically, said the Prime Minister.

According to her, our citizens no longer had to go to, say, the Tax Administration, and since then, the public administration has exchanged 50 million documents, which means that citizens did not have to go from office to office for 50 million papers.

Brnabić pointed out that she is proud of what has been done in the field of education since she became the head of the Government, specifying that in September 2017, programming was introduced as a compulsory subject in primary schools.

Nobody believed that we could do that, but we cooperated with the private sector and some social organizations and we succeeded. At the moment, we are far ahead of numerous countries in Europe and the world, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister pointed out that she was most proud when the cornerstone was laid for the science and technology park in southern Serbia, noting that so far, our country has four science and technology parks.

She pointed out that Serbia has since become one of the most successful countries in the world in the field of technology, and that according to some parameters, it is among the ten countries in the world, or among the five, assessing that this is proof that the country can change quickly.

Answering the question about vaccination, the Prime Minister emphasized that our country has never seen it as a geopolitical issue, but as a health issue.

According to her, Serbia talked with producers from both the East and the West and was among the first European countries to sign agreements with the company Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinopharm.

Unfortunately, many countries have viewed this issue as geopolitical. It did not matter to us, as long as the vaccines were safe, the Prime Minister emphasized and added that this was not the end of Serbia's success, because good organization was also needed.

Brnabić explained that the organization is another important thing in vaccination, because it is a logistically very difficult process, adding that, with the help of digitalization, success has been achieved and that everything we did in the previous years has paid off.

She stated that Serbia quickly established a system through which citizens could express interest in vaccination against the coronavirus and choose which vaccine they wanted to receive, as well as to be informed by a message when to go and get vaccinated.

Now I can log in on my phone, to see how many people have received the vaccine, how many more have registered, so that the effects of digitalization are obvious. We have made everything very efficient and easy for our citizens, the Prime Minister explained.

Answering the question of what she can tell other countries of the world about how to progress faster, Brnabić said that it is important to invest as much as possible in digitalization and education.

You need to teach children how to think, not what to think. Not all children will become IT experts, but what they can learn is an algorithmic way of thinking and how to make decisions, she said.

The Prime Minister mentioned investing in high-speed internet and providing infrastructure for start-ups as an important thing for progress, because more and more economies will be based on start-ups and innovations, emphasizing that people should be helped to start companies and implement their ideas.

Speaking about social networks, she pointed out that fake news has become the biggest problem on these networks and that it will remain so for some time.

This is the biggest challenge I face as Prime Minister, especially during the corona virus pandemic, she said, adding that social networks are also a great opportunity for politicians to communicate with citizens.

Source: www.srbija.gov.rs
Photo: www.srbija.gov.rs

President Vučić: We have decided – our goal is the EU, but China is an important partner

22 July 2021

President Vučić: We have decided – our goal is the EU, but China is an important partner

We have decided – our goal was and remains the EU, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said in an interview with the German daily "Handelsblatt", adding that there is no alternative for Serbia, but also stressing that China is an important partner for Serbia, and that the task of the state is to take care about the interests of its citizens.

He thus answered the question of what Serbia will choose once it has to choose between close relations with Beijing or the EU. Vučić emphasized that Serbia wants to become a full member of the EU.

"We are connected by history, common culture, EU members are already undoubtedly our most important partners", he explained and added that the trade exchange between Germany and China is 3,000 times higher than between Serbia and China, and, as he noted, even despite that, Serbia's business operations with China are portrayed as a problem.

To the statement that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not congratulate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, and that he did so, he replied that Serbia is not Germany, but a small country. On additional insistence on what Serbia will do if it has to choose between the EU and China, he underlined that Serbia has already decided, that its goal was and remains the EU membership.

"Our biggest investors are from the EU. The EU accounts for 67% of our trade while 17 percent of the trade is with countries of the region that are all on the way to the EU. We cannot survive without the EU", he added.

"But can we do a lot of good things with China – of course. And we do that, just like Germany does", Vučić pointed out, and to the remark that the quality of the Silk Road projects was being criticized, primarily because of Chinese workers, he answered that the quality of roads or bridges, which Serbia is building with China, is excellent.

"We give jobs to those who submit the best offer to us. That is why I tell Europeans who criticize Chinese projects in our country – offer us a project for one euro more and you will get it", he emphasized.

In that regard, he pointed out that Serbia is building a railway to Northern Macedonia with 600 million euros of EU aid, stating that that offer was better than China's.

"There is often talk of a 180-kilometer railway to Budapest through the territory of Serbia, which is financed by China. But the railway that is being built with the help of the EU from Belgrade to the northern Macedonian border is twice as long and no one is talking about it. It is all too political", he stated.

Asked whether he welcomes the plans of the EU and the USA regarding an alternative initiative to the Silk Road, Vučić said that he supports everything that brings advantages to our region.

"The Chinese want to expand their presence everywhere, but many processes in the West are, frankly, more efficient and without problems. We still have a lot to learn from the West, but we are getting there", Vučić said.

He pointed out that China was an important partner for Serbia and added that when the consolidation of state finances began in 2014, our country received good conditions from China for development projects.

He also stated that a competition for a copper mine was announced in eastern Serbia, at the request of the EU, that no European company had made an offer for six months, and that it had then been taken over by the Chinese.

"Our job is to take care of our people", he said.

He reminded that the Serbian economy grew by 52% in eight and a half years, which for the EU means that Serbia could be a strong member and engine for the entire region.

Explaining how Serbia is developing so well economically, he pointed out that Serbia has an excellent workforce, which speaks English, that society and administration are digitalized, and that it has the most flexible labor law in Europe, as well as consolidated public finances.

He reminded that previously the public debt was at 78% of GDP, and that today it has been reduced, thanks to the strong growth of the economy, to 52%.

"We can afford to give investors an incentive to come", he added, emphasizing that Serbia offers investment assistance, but that, for example, subsidies were not the motive for the arrival of the development center of the company Continental.

He pointed out that, five or six years ago, only Serbia started using the dual education system in this region, which Germany, Switzerland and Austria also use, that tens of thousands of people are in dual education, and that this is appreciated by foreign investors, who, in addition, can work closely with universities as well.

Germany, he stated, is the most important trade partner and the largest investor.

We started with the arrival of small textile companies from Turkey, and now primarily large German companies are coming. Today, 71,000 people work in German companies in Serbia", he explained.

Vučić said that the European perspective is very important for investors, stating that Nidek, Toyo Tires or Mitsubishi are coming from Japan to Serbia because our country is on a stable European path.

Asked if he believes that Serbia will become an EU member in the foreseeable future, he said that he does not complain.

"It is certain that if we had received 45 billion euros of EU aid, we would have been much further economically. Instead, we received 1.6 billion euros from the EU. We are used to achieving our successes on our own", said Vučić.

The President of Serbia reminded that in Croatia, salaries used to be 2.2 times higher than in Serbia, and today they are only 1.7 times higher.

"We are closing the gap with our own efforts. If we were to become a member of the EU, then we would certainly not ask for the biggest subsidies", he assures.

He said that the Serbian path follows the German path to Europe, and that Serbia wants a fair chance.

"I believe Merkel's words. She is at the end of her term and I would not have to praise her anymore. But she gave us stability, freedom of travel to the EU, helped us with the migrant crisis in 2015, and asked the Minister of Economy Altmeier and others to work closely with us", he reminded.

Asked if there were any indications that the new German government would support Serbia in the same way, Vučić expressed confidence that it would be the same.

"I know Armin Laschet, I talked to him while he was the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia. He is very smart and understands the situation in the Balkans, and he will certainly continue Merkel's policy towards our region as the new chancellor", he added.

Vučić also expressed his belief that Russia, if Serbia's accession to the EU were concretized, would not react similarly as in the case of Ukraine, as this is a sovereign decision of Serbia.

To an additional question in this regard, Vučić pointed out that whenever he met with Vladimir Putin, and there were 18 or 19 meetings, he told him that he was grateful for the traditionally close friendship with Russia, but also that Serbia is on a clear course towards the EU.

"He asked if it was our choice and I answered that EU membership is indeed our goal", he added.

When it comes to "Kosovo", Vučić emphasized that a compromise is needed regarding this issue.

"Only in this way can there be sustainable peace. Serbia wants peace, me as well. Let's stop with the madness of the past. Only then can the whole region become the engine of new growth for Europe", said Vučić.

Source: Tanjug

Selaković invited representatives of members of the NAM to gather in Belgrade in October

13. July 2021.

Selaković invited representatives of members of the NAM to gather in Belgrade in October

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, spoke at the Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) today and on that occasion sent an invitation to the representatives of the members to gather in Belgrade on 11 and 12 October, when the 60th anniversary of the first Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Belgrade in 1961 will be marked.

Selaković informed the participants of the conference that Serbia would organize this important jubilee of non-aligned countries together with Azerbaijan – which is currently chairing the NAM.

In his address, Selaković reminded that the former Yugoslavia and President Tito, as co-founders of the Movement, gave their contribution to creating a vision of a different world, and that Serbia, as one of the successors of Yugoslavia, is proud of that part of its history.

"The spirit of non-alignment is based on equality, freedom, lasting peace, sovereign equality of states and peaceful cooperation of all peoples, and these values are also woven into the state-building foundations of Serbia", the minister said.

Selaković said that the Non-Aligned Movement throughout its history has been a beacon of freedom to all those who sought the right to existence and prosperity in a world that was often ruled, not by the force of law, but by the law of force. He assessed that even today we find ourselves in times of serious global challenges in which the Movement has the opportunity to reaffirm its libertarian traditions and commitment to a world of equals.

"Serbia, as a militarily neutral and politically independent state, will give its most sincere contribution to such goals of the Movement. We hope that by strengthening mutual ties and cooperation, as a group of states and peoples that share the same values and interests, we will strengthen our common capacity to face the challenges of tomorrow. And the challenges are already before us", Selaković pointed out.

The Minister emphasized that international law should be a pillar of political and security architecture of the world, and added that Serbia respects the commitment of the members of the Movement towards the goals and principles of the UN Charter.

"Many members of this movement are aware that by insisting on international law, they are working in their own favor and in favor of preserving regional and global stability," the minister pointed out.

Selaković also said that the COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed that inequality, lack of solidarity and empathy in the world have become very obvious in the roughest way.

"Serbia is eternally grateful to all the countries which, such as Azerbaijan, helped us in difficult times. We later extended that chain of solidarity by making vaccines available, not only to our citizens, but also to others in the region. We supported our neighbors with the belief that solidarity is the best investment in a common future", the minister concluded.

Address by the President of the Republic of Serbia at the session of the United Nations Security Council

09. June 2021.

Address by the President of the Republic of Serbia at the session of the United Nations Security Council

Dear Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, members of the delegations

I would point to a few ongoing issues in my speech that refer to the competences of the Mechanism, namely, the possibility of serving the sentences passed by the ICTY and Mechanism in the Republic of Serbia, with the current practice of disabling early release of the sentenced persons as well as obligation of the Mechanism regarding protection of sentenced persons.

The second part of the speech will be dedicated to issues that are opened by the six –month Report on the work of the Mechanism by Mechanism President Mr. Agius and Report by the Chief Prosecutor Mr. Serge Brammertz, especially regarding current cooperation of the Republic of Serbia and the Mechanism.

The third part of my speech, and I noticed that in many of your statements even today, is going to be the view of Serbia on everything that took place in The Hague Tribunal and what the Tribunal verdicts brought to people in the region of former Yugoslavia.

The Republic of Serbia has initiated before the Security Council, on several occasions, the issue of possibility of serving sentences passed by the ICTY and Mechanism in the Republic of Serbia. Beside the efforts to move this issue from “square one”, not a single response was obtained from the Security Council. The majority of persons that are serving their prison sentences are citizens of the Republic of Serbia, and it comes naturally that the Republic of Serbia is interested in enabling them to serve their prison sentences in the Republic of Serbia.

ICTY and the Mechanism are making references to the Security Council as an institution in charge of dealing with this issue.

I am ready to reiterate here the readiness of the Republic of Serbia to take over obligations and liability for executing prison sentences that the Tribunal or Mechanism passed on the citizens of the Republic of Serbia, under the monitoring of the Mechanism and full respect for the authority of the Mechanism regarding early release.

Mr. President

A particular problem that we are facing with is disturbance by the judicial institutions established in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, which is within Serbia and which is under Interim Administration of the UN. We are witnesses of attempts of retrial for two citizens that are serving their prison sentences for which they had already been trialed before the ICTY. More concretely, in previous period there was an attempt for hearing of Nebojša Pavković and for obtaining extradition of Vlastimir Đorđević.

I urge on the Mechanism and Security Council to prevent attempts of violation of the principle ne bis in idem, a civilization principle that was confirmed in Article 7 (1) of the Statute of the Mechanism and to disable retrials for persons already convicted by the ICTY, particularly to make sure that it is not done in the territory which is under interim UN administration.

Mr. President,

President of the Mechanism (Mr. Carmel Agius), apart from the regular Report, delivered also on 11 May 2021 a letter to the President of the Security Council, whose subject is the alleged omission of the Republic of Serbia to apprehend and turn over to the Mechanism Petar Jojić and Vjerica Radeta, indicted of contempt of court, claiming that in this way the Republic of Serbia was acting contrary to its obligations towards the UNSC Resolution 1966 (2010) and asking the Security Council to take measures in order to ensure that Serbia meets the alleged obligations in accordance with the Mechanism Statue and Resolution 1966.

The point of the argumentation of the President of the Mechanism comes to that that the Republic of Serbia has the obligation to deprive of liberty and extradite to the Mechanism its citizens accused of contempt of court, regardless of the nature of accusation, circumstances under which such an order was made and consequences that might result from its implementation.

It is about accusations that do not refer to sever violations of international humanitarian law and that are related to a case before the ICTY, which ended in 2018 (Vojislav Šešelj case), by acquitting the defendant in the first instance, and upon the Prosecutor’s complaint the defendant was declared guilty and sentenced to a 10-year imprisonment, which was covered by the time he spent at the UN Detention Unit.

Judge Agius states that Serbia ignores its obligations in accordance with the Resolution 1966 (2010). Quite the opposite- the Republic of Serbia takes seriously its obligations regarding cooperation with the Mechanism. After the warrant for apprehension and extradition of the two persons accused of contempt of court to the Mechanism had been introduced, the Higher Court in Belgrade established that assumptions for their apprehension and extradition to the Mechanism had not been met. The decision is founded on the rules of international law and domestic law of the Republic of Serbia and it is mandatory for holders of the executive power in the Republic of Serbia.

I would remind here that the first decision of a sole judge (Aydin Sefa Akay, 12 June 2018), that was acting in this case was that the criminal prosecution of V. Radeta and P. Jojić for alleged contempt of court was to be forwarded to the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia. In procedures that followed, the argument of the alleged unwillingness of the witnesses to cooperate with the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia was stated for the first time, and the decision on deprivation of transferring the case to the jurisdiction of the judicial authorities of the Republic of Serbia was based on the respective argument.

The Republic of Serbia expressed its readiness to take over the court procedure against Petar Jojić and Vjerica Radeta on several occasions and it provided appropriate guarantees. Additionally, the Republic of Serbia fully recognizes and accepts the obligation of the Mechanism to monitor trials that were transferred to national courts with the help of international and regional organizations, as well as to take measures envisaged by Article 6 of the Statute of the Mechanism.

I would remind here that the Republic of Serbia extradited to the tribunal all the persons indicted by the Prosecutor’s Office, and among the respective mostly highest political, military and police officials; it enabled presence of vast number of witnesses, delivered extensive documentation. Obligation of the Mechanism, in accordance with the Resolution of this Security Council, is to take measures that enable transfer of cases to national justice system. In previous practice, 13 cases were transferred to Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2 to Croatia and only one to Serbia.

The last but not the least, I want to remind all of you here of the fact that France- of course as a sovereign and independent country- upon request for apprehension and extradition of Florence Altman for publishing documents and contempt of court, refused the request for extradition, with an explanation that it does not extradite its citizens. For far smaller offence you ask as to extradite our citizens Jojic and Radeta, showing both the distrust to Serbian justice and judiciary and Serbian State, as well as a fact that the rule from ancient Rome is still valid – quod licet lovi non licet bovi.

It does not harm to underline that high-level officers and politicians were not trialed for crimes against Serbs, and that crimes against Serbs remained unsanctioned before ICTY and Mechanism. Let me remind you, just as an example that Ademi and Norac case for ferocious crimes against Serb civilians in Medački Džep was left to Croatian justice institutions. Proven crimes against Serbs, like those of Ramuš Haradinaj, Naser Orić, then Ante Gotovina and other indicted for military operation “Storm” that led to a complete ethnic cleansing of Serb population in the big part of today’s Croatia, resulted before the ICTY in acquittals. Many horrible crimes against Serb civilians that were committed in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, and that resulted in ethnic cleansing, simply were not the subject of interest of the ICTY.

What’s very important and not to leave anything unclear, Serbia is a country that condemns all crimes and all criminals who perpetrated them in the region of former Yugoslavia. However, it is interesting that despite often criticism Serbia is the only one that speaks openly and condemns crimes perpetrated by Serb nationals, while in other regional countries they do not speak at all about crimes that representatives of those nations committed against members of Serbian people.

And I want to emphasize once again here in front of you that Serbia condemns terrible crime in Srebrenica and extends its deepest condolences to the families of all killed in that massacre. And there are no “buts” about the respective.

Nevertheless, we are here to analyze results and penal policy of ICTY and the Mechanism and it was such that it has never gained trust among Serbian people, no matter where they live. And not because we Serbs do not acknowledge crime committed by some of our compatriots, but because The Hague Tribunal, with exceptions, was judging only to Serbs and in all three territories of former Yugoslavia- Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo and Metohija, which some of the SC Member States see and name of course, contrary to law and legal norms and UN Resolutions, as an independent state. I would try to plastically prove to you how The Hague justice was tailored even though I know that it will not come to understanding of many of you, but to me it is important because of the history, facts, and school books that will be made in accordance with the facts.

Namely, Serbs were sentenced to totally 1138 years of imprisonment, and to 8 life imprisonments. At the same time, The Hague Tribunal did not sentence a single Croat for crimes against Serbs, neither in actions Medački Džep, nor Flash and Storm. How politically cunning it was done in the Tribunal, and all wrapped in the form of law and justice. Prosecutors of The Hague Tribunal chose on purpose three military and political leaders of Croats, Bosniac Muslims and Albanians, on all three mentioned territories, committed against Serbs. – Ante Gotovina, Naser Orić and Ramuš Haradinaj. It is interesting that following the same pattern, the same pattern, this injustice was shared. Namely, all of them were sentenced in the first instance procedure, with the exception of Ramuš Haradinaj, because not a single witness survived. Gotovina was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment in first-instance procedure, while by a mysterious decision of the second instance council and 3:2 judge ratio, the verdict was changed to acquittal. Naser Orić, for crimes against Serbs, was also sentenced in first instance verdict, but by a mysterious decision of the second instance court, and again 3:2 ratio decision was an acquittal and he was set free of any liability. Let me reiterate, all witnesses in process against Ramus Haradinaj, either committed suicide or were killed under very, very strange circumstances.

Let me conclude, I do not want to believe that someone wants to say that there had been no crimes against Serbs, but judging by the verdicts of The Hague Tribunal, no one- absolutely no one- is responsible for those crimes.

Nevertheless, we in Serbia will show responsibility and we will fight for peace, stability and reconciliation in the region.

We ask UN Security Council Member States to help us with rational and pragmatic approach and respect for international law and not by attempts of further humiliation of Serbia. Serbia is a small country, with proud and courageous people, the one that gave the biggest sacrifice during the WWI and WWII; people who wants to leave in peace with their neighbors. And when I am asking you for this, I do not think I am asking for too much.

At the very end, Serbia is the fastest growing country of the Western Balkans region and we cannot progress unless our relations with neighbors, friends and other countries are good, solid and better. That is why- despite the selective justice that was applied in The Hague Tribunal- we will be open for any dialogue, any kind of cooperation and we will look towards the future and not towards the past. And I have only one message for the citizens of Serbia and citizens of Serbian nationality in the entire region- keep your heads up, neither Serbia nor Serbian people are convicted of anything and it is up to us to work even more diligently, to open factories and to fight for our children and our future.

Long Live Serbia!

Minister Selaković presented the new e-Consulate service

20 May 2021

Minister Selaković presented the new e-Consulate service

A new service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "e-Consulate" was presented in Belgrade today, intended for foreign citizens who apply for a visa and aspire to come to Serbia to work.

On that occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic said that this service was one of the indicators of good development of our country, which, as he pointed out, was becoming a magnet for serious foreign companies, which brought a large number of workers from other countries to work in Serbia.

"Not to be pretentious, but completely realistic, this service represents a turning point in the functioning of our system. E-Consulate and digitalization of the procedure for issuing work visas for foreign citizens who want to work in Serbia, is the first electronic service offered by the Foreign Ministry, and I can promise you that this is indeed our first, but by no means the last e-service", Selakovic emphasized.

The Head of Serbian diplomacy pointed out that "e-Consulate" reflected the modernization of an extremely important segment of the activities of diplomatic and consular missions of Serbia, and that we were actually talking about something that was essential for the further development processes of our country.

The Minister recalled that, when the President of the Republic visited the construction site of the Moravian Corridor, he was told that some construction works were delayed because Bechtel company was not issued work visas on time.

“The moment we saw that and heard the President, I alerted the services in the Ministry. We were surprised, as we knew that the issuance of visas in Turkey had a good dynamic, and then we determined that it was actually workers from Bangladesh who applied for a visa through our Embassy in India, where we have a problem with staff shortage”, the Minister explained.

As he added, this is a demanding and laborious task, each of our employees had to receive the documentation on paper, check it, then request additional information, and only then forward it.

"Today, this has been fantastically perfected for our consular officers, all that documentation is submitted in electronic form. We used to have two filters to check the documentation, now we actually have three. And the work is significantly more efficient", Selakovic pointed out.

As he emphasized, this is a service which was promised less than four months ago and it becomes available on Monday, in 95 diplomatic and consular missions of Serbia, i.e. in all our embassies and consulates general.

The biggest result of that endeavor, the Minister pointed out, apart from the advantage it would bring in the future work, was the fact that it was not a project of one state body, but a joint endeavor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IT and eGovernment Office, General Secretariat of the Government, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, National Employment Service.

“We did an extremely good job in record time. This is to the pride of our Ministry, to the pride of the entire state. I am convinced that in the period ahead, we will further modernize our affairs and make Serbia one of the few countries that has such mechanisms and such state-of-the-art provision of consular services", Selakovic said.

Speaking about the "e-Consulate" portal itself, the Minister explained that there is a cartoon of Nikola Tesla and the building of the old railway station with one crane, which actually symbolizes a historical fact - that Tesla was in Belgrade in the year when it was built.

"Today it is the place behind which the Belgrade of the future is rising, and what we managed to do together is an indicator of something that is the future of Serbia, the development of artificial intelligence, IT and creating conditions for more people to live and arrive here in Serbia in the future seeking good life and employment", concluded the Minister.

The Director of the Office for IT and eGovernment, Mihailo Jovanovic, said that this was the first time that e-services were focused on foreign citizens, which was the case with our citizens so far.

In the period from 1 January 2019 to 17 May this year, the most applications for Serbian visas were submitted at the Embassy in Beijing, 6,766 applications, then in New Delhi - 2,973, Shanghai 2,115, Tokyo 1,798, and Cairo 1,756.

In that period, 1,270 requests were submitted in Algiers, 1,095 in Jakarta, and 1,077 in Beirut.

In terms of their nationality, Serbian D visa for employment is most requested by citizens of China - 9,516 applications, followed by India 1,955, and Ukraine - 673.

NFORMATION ON VACCINATION AGAINST CORONAVIRUS IN SERBIA (updated: 26 April 2021)

INFORMATION ON VACCINATION AGAINST CORONAVIRUS IN SERBIA
(updated: 26 April 2021)

Vaccination (immunization) in Serbia began on 24 December (earlier than in the majority of European countries). Prime Minister Ana Brnabic received the first vaccine. She was also the first Prime Minister in Europe to receive the vaccine shot.

Serbia was the third country in Europe, after Britain and Switzerland, to start the vaccination. In Serbia, mass vaccination of the population in the fight against Covid-19 launched on 19 January.

Medical staff was the first to receive the vaccine, the immunization of geriatric centres' patrons followed, and the vaccines were then administered to the personnel of the Ministry of the Interior, Serbian Army and other security services, media representatives and others.

In Serbia, citizens express interest to be vaccinated against Covid-19 through the e-Government portal or by phone - via the contact center, upon which they receive a message with the date and time of vaccination appointment.

The Serbian Government informed that it enabled registering for vaccination against coronavirus via Viber app, starting 6 April, which is available through the official info service of the Serbian Government launched on Viber.

As of 9 April, all local governments will start arranging open vaccination posts where citizens will be able to get vaccine shots without prior registration, while the immunization of citizens who registered via e-Government portal or the Viber app will also be carried out at the same time.
More than 1,700,000 citizens applied through the e-Government portal or contact centers. Between 10,000 and 15,000 citizens apply for vaccination daily through the e-Government portal.
Citizens are able choose the vaccine they wish to receive, and the following are available: Pfizer-BioNTech, Chinese Sinopharm, Russian Sputnik V and AstraZeneca.
Serbia is one of the few countries that has four vaccines at its disposal.
According to the data, 70 percent of those vaccinated received the Sinopharm vaccine (more than a million citizens), 12 percent received the Pfizer vaccine, 9 percent Sputnik V and 9 percent the AstraZeneca vaccine.

52% of women are immunized, and most citizens received the "Sinofarm" vaccine.

The elderly are constantly pleaded with and invited to apply for the vaccine if they have not already, considering that citizens over 70 years of age are a priority. At the same time, citizens of all ages are invited to register and get vaccinated, since immunization has also begun of those who are not in the priority groups. Medical workers have also been vaccinating residents of smaller and rural areas, who have not registered via e-Government.

The importance of vaccination is constantly emphasized, as well as the fact that it is the only solution in the fight against the Covid-19 virus.

* On 26 April - Director of the Office for e-Government Mihailo Jovanovic said that from tomorrow, vaccination without making an appointment will be possible at all vaccination posts throughout Serbia, with three vaccines available - Pfizer, Sputnik V and Sinopharm.

According to the latest information, 3.255.000 vaccine doses were given in Serbia, out of which fully vaccinated citizens (having received both doses) account for 1.310.000 (a third of the Serbian adult population). It is estimated that by the end of April, we will have about 40 percent of the adult population vaccinated with the first vaccine dose.

1.200,000 citizens were fully immunized - which means that three weeks have passed since their second dose, or 5 weeks since their first dose in the case of AstraZeneca.

In the age group between 65 and 74, more than 51 percent of the population has been vaccinated, and in the age group over 75, we have 42 percent of those vaccinated.

*On April 6, President Vucic was vaccinated in Rudna Glava, receiving the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.

On Thursday, 8 April, Serbia broke its own record for the number of persons vaccinated, when more than 75,000 people were vaccinated. This is a result that, in proportion to the number of citizens, even the most developed countries in Europe and the world cannot take pride in.

The goal is to have more than 2,800,000 persons vaccinated, and 2,200,000 revaccinated by the end of May, and more than three million vaccinated and revaccinated persons by the end of June.

Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, Uzice and Sremska Mitrovica are at the top of the list with about 36 or 37 percent of vaccinated adult citizens.

*Example of Belgrade – *On 26 April - The millionth dose of the coronavirus vaccine was administered in the capital of Serbia.
40,8 percent of adult citizens have been vaccinated (574.729 citizens), out of which fully vaccinated citizens 402.416 or 28,6 percent. There are additional 18 posts in city municipalities where they can be vaccinated without making an appointment. When it comes to senior citizens, aged 65 to 74, more than 70,2 percent of that population was vaccinated.

PROCUREMENT OF VACCINES

*On 22 December, the first quantities of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were delivered to Serbia. Serbia is the second country in Europe, after Great Britain, to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

*On 16 January, one million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine arrived.

*On 29 January, 40,000 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine arrived.

*On 9 February, a new consignment of 50,000 Sputnik V vaccines arrived from Russia.

*On 11 February, Russian experts arrived in Serbia and discussed with Serbian experts how to start the production of Russian vaccines in Serbia as soon as possible. They visited the Torlak Institute in order to assess the technological and personnel capacities of the Institute for the production of the Sputnik V vaccine.
President Vucic announced that our country will invest in new plants, new equipment that would meet all standards, with the goal of producing the vaccine in our country. The Sputnik V vaccine would be distributed to the region from our country, but also to European countries.

* On 10 February, another batch of 500,000 Chinese Sinopharm vaccines arrived in Serbia.

* On 15 February, 40,950 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech company vaccine against coronavirus arrived in Serbia.

*On 21 February, 150,000 AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in Serbia, which have been available at every vaccination post since 23 February. Serbia was the first country in the Balkans to have this vaccine at that point in time.

*On 22 February, 46,800 more Pfizer vaccines arrived in Serbia.

*On 22 February, 50,000 more Sputnik V vaccines were delivered.

*On 28 February, a new consignment of 100,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine arrived (this was a delivery of the second dose of the vaccine - for revaccination), since the first and second doses have a different composition.

*On 1 March, a delivery of 58,500 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines arrived.

*On 4 March - during his official visit to Berlin, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Selakovic said that German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas informed him that Serbia would soon receive 300,000 vaccines from the COVAX program (the first doses arrived on 2 April).

* On 5 March, 500,000 more Sinopharm vaccines were delivered.

*On 8 March, 28,080 doses of vaccines by Pfizer- BioNTech company arrived.

*On 11 March – Minister Popovic announced that the production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine at the Torlak Institute will begin in May, and that Serbia will thus become the first country in the territory of Europe where this vaccine is produced.
The first phase of production of the Russian vaccine in Serbia implies transport of the substance, filling of bottles in accordance with the highest technological standards, packaging and distribution of vaccines in our country and region, and after the establishment of the first phase of production, the preparation of a feasibility study will begin on production in the so-called full cycle, which includes the production of the substance in Serbia. This will require the procurement of complex technological equipment and the expansion of Torlak's production capacities, but estimates are that full-cycle production could begin by the end of this year.

*On 11 March – during his visit to the UAE, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that it had been agreed that, together with the United Arab Emirates and China, a vaccine against the coronavirus of the Chinese company Sinopharm would be produced in Serbia. President Vucic pointed out that, in addition to the timetable made with the competent Russian minister for the production of the Russian vaccine at Torlak, it was agreed that the factory for the Sinopharm vaccine would be completed and start production from 15 October.

*On 15 March - A delivery of 16,380 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived.

*On 18 March - President Aleksandar Vucic talked via video link with the management of Sinopharm company about the process of procuring vaccines, building a factory of Chinese vaccines in Serbia and building and equipping Serbian hospitals. An agreement on the purchase of another two million doses of Sinopharm vaccines was signed at the meeting.

* On 18 March - President Vucic announced that Serbia will have two vaccine factories and will produce between 30 and 40 million doses a year. The President had talks with the representatives of Sinopharm, while Minister Nenad Popovic discussed the production of the Sputnik V vaccine. (He stated that he expected that in less than a year, the liquid for the vaccine would be produced, and not just packaged.)

*On 22 March - 55,990 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were delivered.

*On 23 March - 100,000 doses of the first component of the Sputnik V vaccine arrived in Serbia.

*On 25 March - The Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera “Torlak” announced that an agreement has been reached on the production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Serbia. This will make our country the first state in Southern Europe to produce Sputnik V, and the vaccine could be exported to other countries in the region at later stages. The production of the vaccine will start by May at Torlak.

*On 29 March - 23,570 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived.

Serbia paid EUR 4.8 million in advance to the COVAX system, and we donated EUR 2 million for the development of the vaccine through the European Commission. Since no vaccines from the COVAX programme were delivered to Serbia, Serbia procured them bilaterally.

*On 2 April, the first consignment of 57,600 AstraZeneca vaccines arrived through the COVAX mechanism.

*On 5 April, half a million Sinopharm vaccines arrived.

The Prime Minister stated that 2.5 million vaccines were delivered to Serbia from China alone, and that a little less than a million of vaccines were delivered by all other manufacturers.

*On 5 April - The Torlak Institute signed a Technology Transfer Agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Russian pharmaceutical company Generium, under which the Russian side will transmit to the Serbian side data on procedures and technologies required for the production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Serbia.
Minister Nenad Popovic announced that three validation series of the Sputnik V vaccine would be produced in April, and that samples from these validation series would be sent for quality control to the Gamaleya Institute, and after the institute confirms the validity of samples produced at Torlak, our institute would start the production of the vaccine. This is expected to materialize by 20 May this year, and in that way Serbia will become the first country in Europe to produce the Sputnik V vaccine.

*On 6 April, 106,420 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech were delivered.
With that delivery, Serbia procured a total of 3.5 million vaccines, paid for all the vaccines, as well as all that we received from the COVAX system.

*On 12 April - 106,470 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived.
*14 April – The first series of control doses of the Sputnik V vaccine was filled at Torlak. The vaccines produced at Torlak will be released in June this year.

*15 April – President Vucic announced that another 211,000 Pfizer vaccines would arrive on Monday, 19 April, as well as that 50,000 doses of the second component of the Russian vaccine arrived on 14 April, and that on 16 April another batch of same quantity was expected, as are another 100,000 doses of the Sputnik V first component on Monday or Tuesday. Chinese Sinopharm vaccines are also expected by the end of this month.

*19 April - 211,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Serbia, which is the largest single delivery of that vaccine to our country so far.

* On 23 April – President Vucic said that we have enough vaccines and that vaccination in the region is important. He said that Serbia received the largest number of vaccines against the coronavirus from the Chinese company Sinopharm and then from the Pfizer-BioNTech company, that he expected 36,000 vaccines from the EU, and stressed that it was important for Serbia that citizens in the region were also vaccinated.
"Out of the planned 96,000 vaccines from COVAX, we have so far received 57,000. From the EU out of the total quota of 630,000 doses that should arrive by the end of June, Serbia should receive about 270,000 or 260,000 in proportion to the population, and we will receive only 36,000 vaccines", Vucic stated.
He added that Serbia agreed with that because those vaccines were more important to other parts of our region.
„We believe that as important those vaccines are for us, they are equally important for our neighbours. Everything we have been doing is meaningless if they cannot get the vaccine. People who come to Belgrade and have sports, business and other contacts, it is important for us that they cannot transmit the infection", Vucic stated.
He thanked the EU and COVAX, but noted that Serbia received the most vaccines from Sinopharm, and then from Pfizer-BioNTech.
As he said, Serbia received a significantly higher number of vaccines from the US-German company, by as many as 250,000 doses more than the Russian vaccine.
He pointed out that Serbia was the only country outside the EU that started vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine at the same time as the EU and that, when it comes to the delivery of vaccines, vaccines from Sinopharm and Pfizer-BioNTech companies arrived on time, and deliveries of some other manufacturers were late.
Vucic added that Serbia would continue the vaccination, as well as that it managed to provide vaccines through hard work.

*On 26 April - A new batch of 500,000 Chinese Sinopharm vaccines against coronavirus arrived in Serbia.

VACCINE DONATIONS TO COUNTRIES IN THE REGION AND VACCINATION OF FOREIGNERS

*On 14 February - President Vucic handed over the first batch of 4,680 Pfizer vaccines to Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, while on 24 February, Minister Loncar handed over another 3,510 doses of Pfizer vaccine to the Macedonian Minister of Health.

*On 17 February - Serbia donated 2,000 Sputnik V vaccines to Montenegro.

*Approximately 5,000 health care workers from the Republic of Srpska have been vaccinated in Serbia so far, and our country will make the vaccination information system available to the Republic of Srpska so that they can use it when they have enough vaccines.

*On 2 March – Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic handed over to the Chairman and Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina a batch of 5,000 AstraZeneca company vaccines donated by Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, while on 12 March, another 5,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine were delivered from Serbia.

* On 15 March – all employees of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina were vaccinated at a hospital in Uzice, at the request of that court, in cooperation with the Constitutional Court of Serbia, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Serbian Embassy in Sarajevo.

*On 23 March - vaccination of 105 journalists from North Macedonia began at the Public Health Institute in Vranje. AstraZeneca vaccines for Macedonian journalists were provided at the request of the Macedonian Association of Journalists in cooperation with the Journalists' Association of Serbia, and with the support of the Office of the Serbian President.

*On 23 March - President Aleksandar Vucic handed over ventilators and other medical equipment for the Republic of Srpska. The donation was received by Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik.

*On 24 March - The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS) announced that, in cooperation with the Serbian Government, 10,000 vaccines were provided for businessmen from the region and their employees.

*On 29 March - The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia announced that 8,500 businessmen from the region were vaccinated in Serbia over the weekend (on 27 and 28 March).

*Serbia donated a total of 40,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine to North Macedonia, the first batch of 20,000 vaccines for the first dose arrived on 1 April, and it was announced that the revaccination doses would arrive in the following period.

39,000 foreign nationals were vaccinated (using AstraZeneca vaccine), who arrived either at the invitation of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce or registered on their own via the e-Government portal. Prime Minister Brnabic stated that the vaccination of people from the region was a huge success and assessed that this was a way to raise common security, because if people in the region were not safe, people in Serbia were not safe either. The most numerous were citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro

*On 8 April - The Prime Minister stated that Serbia was currently focused on vaccinating its citizens, but that we would endeavour to help friends and neighbours in the fight against coronavirus through vaccine donations.

Around 53,000 foreign nationals who do not have a registered residence in Serbia have applied for vaccination in Serbia, by registering for vaccination via the e-Government portal. Foreign nationals are currently not being vaccinated, but Serbian citizens only, and once they have been vaccinated the option of vaccinating registered foreign nationals will be considered. Vaccination is free in Serbia, and the same applies to foreign nationals who get a vaccine shot in our country.

Advertisements for vaccination through agencies have appeared on social media and the internet, however, it is not possible to make a vaccination appointment in Serbia through any foreign or domestic travel agency, and these are internet frauds.

*On 8 April - The Government has decided to send a donation of 20,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to the Canton of Sarajevo.

*On 9 April - 29 journalists from the Sarajevo Canton Television were vaccinated in Novi Pazar.

On 10 April - Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik stated that he had agreed with the Serbian President that around 20,000 vaccines would be delivered from Serbia to the Republic of Srpska early next week.

*On 23 April – President Vucic said that Serbia had sent 120,000 vaccines to the region so far, as well as that about 65,000 citizens from the countries of the region were vaccinated in Serbia, which made up a total of about 200,000 vaccines for the people in the region.

NOTE:

Due to the noticeable increased interest and a large number of inquiries made to our diplomatic and consular missions regarding vaccination of foreign nationals in Serbia (without a registered permanent residence in our country), but also the arrival of foreign nationals on their own initiative to be vaccinated in Serbia, it is important, in such situations to unequivocally communicate the following in receiving countries, through the media and in direct contact with interested parties:

"Vaccination of foreign nationals, primarily from the region, is a huge success for Serbia. This is a way to raise common security, because without safe people in the region, people in Serbia are not safe either. Most of the foreign citizens who were vaccinated in Serbia came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro.

In recent days, due to great publicity in the media around the world and the well-organized process of procurement of vaccines and immunization in Serbia, there is a great interest in being vaccinated in our country, not only from the region but also from a large part of Western and Central Europe. A large number of inquiries has also been recorded for "vaccine tourism", both of citizens from those parts of Europe, and of tour operators, travel agencies and airlines.

Serbia is currently focused on vaccinating its citizens, but we will endeavour to help our friends and neighbours in the fight against coronavirus, in the period ahead as well, through vaccine donations.

In recent days, the interest of the domestic population in vaccination has increased, and Serbia is making daily records in vaccinating its own population.

Should the possibility arise in the period ahead for vaccination of interested foreign nationals (without a registered permanent residence in Serbia), Serbia will be very pleased and, to the extent of its capacities, endeavour to accommodate such requests as well. In that case, we will inform the public in a timely manner. But we must note that this is not possible at this moment.

Foreign citizens are able express interest in being vaccinated in Serbia via the eGovernment portal, but it is important to note that this is not enough and that it is necessary to receive a confirmation response and an invitation with the date/time and location of vaccination. For this reason it is not advisable that foreign nationals, having only expressed interest through the eGovernment portal or even without doing so (since there have been such examples at vaccination posts), come to Serbia on their own initiative to be vaccinated and thus expose themselves to unpleasant situations and costs."

VACCINATION OF MEMBERS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS IN SERBIA

The Serbian Government was among the first in the world to enable the immunization of members of the diplomatic corps in Serbia. All four vaccines are available.

Close to 1,300 members of the diplomatic corps, holders of special ID cards (diplomatic, official, consular, etc.), registered and were vaccinated.

*On 13, 18 and 19 February, Sinopharm vaccines were administered. This completed the first round of vaccination. The second round, that is, revaccination with that vaccine, was carried out on 11 and 12 March.

*On 23 February, vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine began. Revaccination using this vaccine was carried out from 16 to 19 March.

Also, vaccination with Sputnik V and AstraZeneca started.

*On 20 March, remaining revaccinations were performed and it was also made possible for members of the diplomatic corps to receive the vaccine, who for certain reasons could not be vaccinated.

VACCINATION OF MIGRANTS

*On 24 March, the vaccination of migrants started in the outpatient clinic of the migrant center in Krnjaca. Around 500 migrants have registered.
Head of UNHCR Office in Serbia Francesca Bonelli pointed out that this UN agency was deeply grateful to the Serbian authorities for including the refugees in the vaccination plan.

INFORMATION ON VACCINATION AGAINST CORONAVIRUS IN SERBIA

INFORMATION ON VACCINATION AGAINST CORONAVIRUS IN SERBIA
(updated: 23 April 2021)

Serbia was the third country in Europe, after Britain and Switzerland, to start the vaccination. In Serbia, mass vaccination of the population in the fight against Covid-19 launched on 19 January.

The importance of vaccination is constantly emphasized, as well as the fact that it is the only solution in the fight against the Covid-19 virus.

According to the latest information, 3.163.499 vaccine doses were given in Serbia, out of which fully vaccinated citizens (having received both doses) account for 1.282.971 (a third of the Serbian adult population). It is estimated that by the end of April, we will have about 40 percent of the adult population vaccinated with the first vaccine dose.

950,000 citizens were fully immunized - which means that three weeks have passed since their second dose, or 5 weeks since their first dose in the case of AstraZeneca.

In the age group between 65 and 74, more than 51 percent of the population has been vaccinated, and in the age group over 75, we have 42 percent of those vaccinated.

*On April 6, President Vucic was vaccinated in Rudna Glava, receiving the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.

The goal is to have more than 2,800,000 persons vaccinated, and 2,200,000 revaccinated by the end of May, and more than three million vaccinated and revaccinated persons by the end of June.

Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, Uzice and Sremska Mitrovica are at the top of the list with about 36 or 37 percent of vaccinated adult citizens.

*Example of Belgrade – 40,8 percent of adult citizens have been vaccinated (574.729 citizens), out of which fully vaccinated citizens 402.416 or 28,6 percent. There are additional 18 posts in city municipalities where they can be vaccinated without making an appointment. When it comes to senior citizens, aged 65 to 74, more than 70,2 percent of that population was vaccinated.