President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met earlier today with the Ambassador of the Republic of France Jean-Louis Falconi, to discuss bilateral relations in the light of last week's visit to Paris and the meeting with President Emmanuel Macron.

President Vučić expressed his gratitude to President Macron for the hospitality, and especially for the admiration he has for Serbia. "President Macron is one of the few statesmen, respectable and influential in the framework of European and world politics and economy, who is always ready to hear Serbian views and understand the weight of our position," said President Vučić. He expressed satisfaction that President Macron intends to visit Serbia again because his visit in 2019 left a distinct impression in Serbian-French relations' history and gave them a new impetus.

President Vučić also said that good relations with France are essential for Serbia and that he will personally monitor joint projects implementation. It was stated that the project of the Belgrade metro is progressing well and follows the planned dynamics. The progress of other large projects, such as the works at the "Nikola Tesla" airport managed by the French "Vinci", and the Vinča landfill rehabilitation in which the French "Suez" participates, was also considered. In this regard, at the meeting, which Ministers Nebojša Stefanović and Siniša Mali attended, they discussed further strengthening of cooperation, especially in the field of infrastructure and the field of defence, i.e. military-technical cooperation.

On this occasion, President Vučić also expressed hope that Serbia will achieve progress on the European path by accepting the new methodology for conducting negotiations with the EU.

Belgrade,
11th February 2021