VUČIĆ: I BELIEVE IN SERBIA-U.S. RELATIONS DEVELOPMENT

BELGRADE, AUGUST 27 /SRNA/ – Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić has said today that the US-Serbia strategic dialogue is a turning point for Belgrade and that he believes in the development of relations with Washington.

During a visit to the Innovation - Education Park of the Serbia’s Mine Action Centre in Velika Moštanica, where companies from Republika Srpska are primarily involved in demining operations, Vučić said he was grateful to the US Government for a $5.1 million donation for demining.

"We cannot change the past, but we can change the future. Within the strategic dialogue, we are developing mutual respect and understanding, we hear and listen to each other. After difficult years, including 1999 and 2008, a new era in relations between Serbia and the US lies ahead of us," Vučić said.

He said there was reason to believe in the development of relations between the two countries on all important issues, adding that he hoped the issue concerning Serbia’s oil company, NIS, could be resolved in September.

Vučić stressed that the Serbian side was open to cooperation with the US in all areas and announced that during his visit to the regular annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York, he would hold a number of meetings with American businesspeople and politicians.

He added that 22 people are currently employed at the Mine Action Centre and that the centre is becoming increasingly professional and respected around the world.

Vučić thanked all the employees at the centre, as well as all the companies carrying out major demining operations, which, he says, are mostly from Pale.

Bojan Glamočlija, director of the Serbia’s Mine Action Centre, stated that, as part of cooperation between the centre and the US through the American International Trust Fund, more than 13 million square metres of land in Serbia had been cleared, while more than 5,000 explosive devices had been found and destroyed.

"Since the centre was established in 2002, the US has been one of our key international partners. I would especially like to thank the State Department, namely the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, for its trust and understanding of Serbia’s needs," Glamočlija said.

One of the companies from Republika Srpska currently working with the centre on the Rakovica Four demining project is In Demining from Pale, which specialises in locating anti-personnel mines and projects involving the clearance of cluster munitions and unexploded ordnance.

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires in Belgrade Alexander Titolo also attended the visit to the Innovation - Education Park of the Serbian Mine Action Centre in Velika Moštanica.