India and Serbia on Saturday resolved to fight the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and decided to enhance cooperation in areas like defence manufacturing, IT and infrastructure, as Vice President Venkaiah Naidu met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Naidu, who arrived here on Friday, was welcomed by Vucic at the Serbia Palace.
During the visit, the two sides signed agreement on cooperation in the field of plant health and plant quarantine and a revised Air Services Agreement.
"The agreement on cooperation in plant protection and plant quarantine would contribute to increasing bilateral trade in agricultural products. The Air Services Agreement would boost trade and tourism by launch of direct air connectivity between India to Serbia in future," Naidu said in a statement.
In their discussions, the two leaders we also exchanged views on multilateral issues and agreed to intensify cooperation in the areas of mutual interest.
"India and Serbia have had close cooperation at the United Nations and other multilateral fora. We agreed that United Nations need to be reformed to reflect the realities of today and address current global challenges, it is long overdue," Naidu said.
Also Read
"We resolved to fight the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and agreed to strengthen cooperation in fight against terrorism at various international fora. It is a global challenge and requires a global response. Terror has no religion. Terroism is enemy of humanity. We must all come together. I am happy that both of us agreed to move in the direction of creating the needed public opinion," he said.
Naidu had extensive discussion with Vucic on all important aspects of bilateral relationship as well as global and regional issues of common interest to both of our countries.
"We expressed our commitment to further build on long-standing friendly ties between our two countries," he said.
During their talks, Naidu and Vucic agreed to expand the bilateral cooperation especially in the areas of economic and cultural relations.
"In the area of economic cooperation, both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in the areas of priority such as agriculture, food processing, defence manufacturing, science and technology, information technology, infrastructure, tourism and pharmaceuticals," Naidu said.
He said India looked forward to further closer cooperation with Serbia.
"I have already assured the President that India stands for the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Serbia. There is no question of any dilution and deviation of our stand. I am also equally happy that the Hon'ble President has unequivocally publically declared their support to India's cause in the United Nations and also in the other international forums," he said.
Naidu thanked Vucic for Serbia's unilateral decision to waive visa for short visits by Indians travelling to Serbia.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content