Official visit by Mirko Cvetkovic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia

The discussions covered the development of political relations and technical and economic cooperation activities. President Leuthard and Prime Minister Cvetkovic underlined the importance of the free trade agreement signed at the end of 2009 between EFTA countries and Serbia. The agreement is expected to enter into force in the second half of this year and will have a positive impact on economic relations between the two countries. Cooperation within the constituencies of the international financial institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) was also among the topics of discussion.

The President of the Swiss Confederation and the Prime Minister stressed the closeness of relations stimulated by the presence in Switzerland of a sizeable community of Serb origin, as well as by the quality and diversity of bilateral cooperation.

Serbia's efforts in terms of European integration, and more broadly the efforts of the region as a whole to achieve the necessary political and socio-economic transition, were also the subject of discussion, as was Switzerland's support in that regard. Furthermore, the meetings provided an opportunity to touch on international and multilateral issues such as the Swiss chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and cooperation in international organisations.

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