SERBIAN President Tomislav Nikolic says Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba’s visit to Serbia will enhance bilateral and multilateral co-operation between the two countries.
President Nikolic said Mr Kalaba’s visit to his country shows the good relations between the two countries.
He said this yesterday when Mr Kalaba paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Belgrade.
This is according to a statement issued yesterday by Ministry of Foreign Affairs public relations officer Alick Banda.
President Nikolic said it is the duty of Zambia and Serbia to develop and maintain the good relations that have existed for a long time.
“Many countries in the world are turning to Africa for different reasons but Serbia has been there for Africa for a long time as a friend and development partner.
“Serbia is still willing to offer more scholarships to Zambian students to study in Serbia in areas such as military and health and is ready to support Zambia’s cause in this respect,” he said.
President Nikolic also said Serbia will continue to support the fight against terrorism and contribute to the efforts by the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU).
He said he would be delighted to welcome President Lungu to Belgrade in the near future and exchange further bilateral engagements.
And Mr Kalaba commended Serbia for its intention to continue co-operating with Africa and Zambia in particular and to increase the volume of trade and investment, which is very low at the moment.
He said it would be important for Zambia to engage Serbia in terms of training in various fields as well as technology transfer.
Mr Kalaba said Serbia and Zambia could collaborate in joint ventures and explore investment opportunities in areas such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and mining.
He emphasised that Zambia needs to add value to its products to help move away from exporting raw products.
Mr Kalaba informed President Nikolic that Zambia is strategically located with eight neighbours, which makes the country the best investment destination in the region and in Africa.
He said the chambers of commerce of both countries should work together to ensure more economic co-operation is achieved between Zambia and Serbia.
Mr Kalaba also met Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksander Vucic with whom he discussed t
he possibility of the Serbian Airline flying into Zambia.