Embassy of The Republic of Serbia in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Ambassador`s interview to the information agency ISNA

Iranian Information Agency ISNA announces an interview with Ambassador D. Todorović. The issues concerned the termination of the visa-free regime, bilateral relations and the situation related to regional developments, both in the Persian Gulf region and in the Balkans. The interview was conducted and published in the Persian language.
Asked why the visa-free regime between Serbia and Iran was interrupted, the ambassador said that statements were already made by both Serbian and Iranian officials. There is nothing hidden in it and everything is completely transparent. Serbia was the first country to abolish visas to Iran and a large number of tourists traveled to Serbia. After 27 years, a direct airline line was established again. The problem was that a number of Iranian citizens abused visa-free regime and because of the increased number of migrants from Iran who were trying to cross into third countries, there was a real danger that Serbia would again be introduced Schengen visas, as pointed out by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Telecommunications and Tourism R. Ljajić, who is also co-president of the MK with Iran. That was the only reason.
As far as bilateral relations are concerned, they are good at all levels. Our country opened its first diplomatic mission 81 years ago and it was one of only 20 foreign diplomatic missions in Tehran. The good relations show the intensity of the visit. Three years ago, the first Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic visited Iran, and this year Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif also did so. In addition, communication and cooperation between the two ministries is constant and good.
We expect the value of trade between the two countries this year to be higher than last year, when it amounted to only $ 21 million. Tourist activity and investments have increased. There is a very strong activity in the field of agriculture, so in Dezful, thanks to Serbian companies, there are fields with seeds from Serbia. Last year, the province of Mazandaran was visited by an agricultural delegation from Iran. In this area, there is even greater potential for cooperation and more work will be done in the future. The ambassador said that the products are imported from Iran and exported from Serbia to Iran.
In addition, he pointed to fruitful cooperation in other areas such as culture, sports, etc. This year, the Serbian Film Week was held in three foreign cities, Serbia was an honorary guest at the Book Fair in Tehran, and now Iran is again participating in the Book Fair in Belgrade.
In terms of US sanctions against Iran, the ambassador said that these were not international sanctions and that Serbia would act the same as the European Union, that the sanctions would not affect cooperation between Serbia and Iran. As you can see, the European Union is continuing trade and economic cooperation with Iran, so Serbia will do it. He pointed out that the basic foreign policy priority of Serbia is membership in the European Union.
Regarding security, the Ambassador underlined that he felt completely safe in Iran and that there were no problems in that sense, nor did he hear that others had security problems. Iran is a target of terrorism that has been proven many times now, but is very successful against it, and Iranian experience is very important in this respect.
Answering the question about the murder of a Saudi journalist, the ambassador emphasized that no one in the world can justify the murder of any media representative and that for the final conclusions and the official
Answering the question about the murder of a Saudi journalist, the ambassador emphasized that no one in the world can justify the murder of any media representative and that the final conclusions and official statements should wait for the completion of the investigation.
In the end, he informed that diplomatic representatives of the former Yugoslav republics from the Balkans in Tehran have good and collegial relations, and that Serbia, by its Balkan policy, seeks to make relations with all countries of the region good. In the Balkans as well as in the Persian Gulf region, it occasionally has problems, but they are best addressed by dialogue.