8 February 2022 The participants of the meeting

8 February 2022 The participants of the meeting

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Foreign Affairs Committee Members Meet with Delegation of Nigerian House of Representatives

The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, headed by Committee Chairman Prof. Dr Zarko Obradovic, met today, at the National Assembly House, with a delegation of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.


Welcoming the guests, Prof. Dr Zarko Obradovic highlighted the traditionally good and friendly political relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, opining that this visit should be a step forward in improving parliamentary cooperation.

He emphasised the importance of the bilateral relations between Serbia and Nigeria, as well as with other countries on the African continent. He praised the very good traditional, friendly and historical ties between the Republic of Serbia and Africa, especially the common past and cooperation within the Non-Aligned Movement.

He underlined that Serbia is a key factor of stability in the region and that it clearly shows its pro-European orientation. In addition to EU membership, Serbia's chief foreign policy goals are to develop good relations with countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as with the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation. He added that Serbia is a military neutral state but that it does cooperate with the NATO alliance.

Obradovic said that Serbia wants to strengthen political dialogue and intensify economic cooperation with Nigeria and also took the opportunity to thank Nigeria for abiding by international law by respecting Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty and not recognising Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence. "Serbia is the most influential country in the Balkans, it occupies a geographically central place on the Balkan Peninsula, which is why it has an extremely prominent geopolitical influence and power", Obradovic pointed out.

He said that thanks to the policy pursued by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the cooperation with the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China has been significantly improved, which has additionally contributed to strengthening the economy and a better life for our citizens. He added that Serbia has been experiencing marked economic growth in recent years and has enjoyed a stable economy even during the pandemic.

Obradovic said that at the beginning of the pandemic, Serbia was the only country in Europe that had all four vaccines at its disposal and enabled citizens from the region to be vaccinated in Serbia.

The Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Serbia Aliyu Ibrahim Al-Mustapha thanked the hosts for the warm welcome, stressing that the Republic of Nigeria respects UN Security Council Resolution 1244, that is Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

He expressed hope for improving cooperation between the two countries in the fields of information technology, nanotechnology, economy, agriculture and sports. He emphasised the importance of this meeting, because it allows for pinpointing areas and activities that can be improved, signing of new agreements and improving existing ones.

Al-Mustapha stressed that Nigeria considers Serbia an ally and friend, adding that there is room to increase mutual foreign investments.

Nigerian Ambassador on non-residential basis Modupe Entian Irele who also spoke at the meeting, opined that the political relations between the two countries are friendly and traditional. She also mentioned the Agreement signed by the two countries on the promotion and protection of investments, which should be revitalised and improved.

At the end of the meeting, Obradovic introduced the guests with project "World in Serbia", under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and invited students from Nigeria to be Serbia’s guests.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Affairs Committee members Dubravka Filipovski and Vesna Markovic who emphasised that in addition to economic cooperation, there is room to improve cooperation in the field of culture. Markovic also underlined that Serbia is an EU candidate country and about 70% of its foreign trade is with EU member states, 15% being with countries in the region and the rest with other countries.

Dubravka Filipovski pointed out that Serbian leadership is primarily committed to peace in the region, political stability and economic progress.



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friday, 29 march
  • 9.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

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