Serbia

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic met with OSCE Chairperson and Maltese FM Ian Borg in Belgrade on Wednesday, and noted that Serbia considered the OSCE the most significant security platform and stood ready to contribute to dialogue amid a global crisis.

BELGRADE - Between January and February this year, Serbia saw a 5.3 bln dinar budget surplus, which is 52 bln dinars better than a planned 46.7 bln deficit.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Finance, a 24.9 bln dinar deficit was registered in February alone.

In February 2024, revenues totalled 158.6 bln dinars, while expenditures amounted to 183.5 bln dinars.

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic said on Wednesday no country in the region or Europe maintained the same level of cooperation and mutual trust with China that Serbia did, and noted that China was Serbia's second-largest economic partner behind Germany.

BELGRADE - Serbia's public debt rose by 26.3 bln dinars to 4,268.1 bln dinars (36.4 bln euros) in February, accounting for 47.8 pct of GDP.

According to figures released by the Public Debt Administration of the Serbian Ministry of Finance, foreign currencies accounted for 77.7 pct of the total public debt at end-February.

MONTE CARLO - Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the world number one in men's tennis singles, has made a storming start to the clay court season by beating Russian Roman Safiulin 6-1, 6-2 in the Monte Carlo Masters second round.

Djokovic, who won after just 69 minutes of play, is now 2-0 head-to-head against Safiulin.

BELGRADE - Serbian Deputy PM and Defence Minister Milos Vucevic said on Tuesday the heroes of the 1999 Battle of Kosare in Kosovo-Metohija "were, and remained, an impenetrable rampart of our freedom."

On the 25th anniversary of the battle, Vucevic said the heroes of Kosare had risen to the "immortal ranks" of "our ancestors."

PARIS - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday in Paris he hoped French luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton would open an office in Belgrade by 2026 and noted that the move would be significant for the Serbian economy and tourism industry.

PARIS - In spite of the corona virus pandemic and the current energy crisis, Serbia has been, and is, succeeding in registering positive growth rates, as indicated by last year's 2.5 pct GDP growth, Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said in Paris on Tuesday.

The plan is for Serbia's GDP to exceed 100 bln euros in 2027, Mali said at a meeting of a Serbia-France business council.

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Internal and External Trade Tomislav Momirovic said on Tuesday he had written to the trade ministers of EU member states, the UK, the US and CEFTA to warn, for a third time in a year, that Pristina's ban on trade in Serbian goods remained in force in Kosovo-Metohija.

PARIS - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday in Paris his discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron last night about the Kosovo-Metohija issue had not been simple but that he believed Macron had understood Serbia's position.