Prime Minister Miloš Vučević and his Gabonese counterpart Raymond Ndong Sima attended today the signing of cooperation agreements between the two countries in the field of defence and sport.
Prime Minister Miloš Vučević and his Gabonese counterpart Raymond Ndong Sima attended today the signing of cooperation agreements between the two countries in the field of defence and sport.
Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić and Minister of Defence of Gabon Brigitte Onkanowa signed the Agreement on cooperation in the field of defence, while Minister of Sport Zoran Gajić signed the Memorandum of Understanding in the field of sport with Onkanowa.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Ndong Sima, Vučević assessed that the documents signed represent the beginning of cooperation between the two countries in numerous other areas of common interest.
He pointed out that, in addition to cooperation in the field of defence, the emphasis is on agriculture and the economy, recalling that Gabon has an area almost three times larger than Serbia and that it is the second country in the world in terms of forest area, which is why further plans in those areas were made concrete.
Gabon wishes to further develop its agriculture and economy, and Serbia, as a country with a deep-rooted tradition of agricultural production and industry, is ready to share its experience and knowledge with its friends from Gabon, the Prime Minister said.
Representatives of Serbia talked with the delegation of the government of Gabon about cooperation in the field of infrastructure projects and public investments, Vučević said and noted that Serbian engineers who once worked on the African continent left a good impression, which is why Gabon's desire is for construction companies from Serbia to be far more present in that country.
The Prime Minister said that the experiences of Serbian experts were transferred when it comes to the construction of hospitals and clinical centres, recalling the period of the coronavirus when several health institutions were built in a very short period of time.
According to him, the meeting also looked at cooperation in the field of pharmaceutical industry, pharmacology and in the field of education, in accordance with which Serbia's open invitation for students from Gabon stands.
Serbia is ready to discuss further cooperation with the Gabonese Republic, he reiterated and added that the African continent represents the continent of the future and that we strive to develop the best possible cooperation with the countries of that area.
Vučević confirmed that Ndong Sima informed him that Gabon will not vote for the proposed resolution on Srebrenica, which will be discussed in the United Nations, for which Serbia is immensely grateful.
Gabon is also one of the countries that withdrew the recognition of so-called Kosovo, which is of inestimable importance for us and a confirmation of our good and sincere relations, which have been going on since the Non-Aligned Movement, and still have strong potential to this day, Vučević concluded.
The Prime Minister of Gabon stated that there is mutual respect between the two countries, and that this African country wants to respect the traditional relations that were established with Yugoslavia.
Ndong Sima pointed out that Gabon strives to strengthen cooperation with Serbia in the field of agriculture, information technologies and environmental protection, but also to establish connections at the level of universities and scientific research centres.
Photos: Slobodan Miljević