Selakovic with General Aoun

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, met today in Beirut with the commander of the Lebanese army, General Joseph Aoun.

General Aoun thanked Serbia for the donation of anti-covid vaccines, which will be distributed to members of the army, and the head of Serbian diplomacy stated that this help is a great sign of friendship in anticipation of the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Minister Selaković informed the host in detail about the economic successes of Serbia in the past years, expressing expectation that Lebanon will also succeed in coping with the challenges of the economic crisis by taking a strategic approach and relying primarily on its own forces. Selaković pointed out that Serbia, thanks to bold fiscal consolidation measures, managed to redirect significant funds to infrastructure development, repayment of expensive loans and industrialization, which led to stable and sustainable growth, which will be among the highest in Europe this year.

In just seven years, thanks to the strategically conceived policy of President Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia managed to reduce unemployment from 26.9 percent to below nine percent, and reduced public debt from 79 percent of GDP to 52 percent. As he reminded, President Vučić personally opened 219 factories in seven years.

The head of Serbian diplomacy expressed his belief that Lebanon, by emphasizing the attraction of investments and industrialization, and by engaging the multimillion diaspora, can reverse economic flows, and Serbia, as a friendly country, is ready to help in different ways. Selaković also met with the Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Church, Elias Audi, in Beirut tonight.

Selaković and Metropolitan Audi discussed, among other things, the position of Orthodox believers in Lebanon.

Minister Selaković expressed hope that Metropolitan Audi will have the opportunity to visit Serbia and the Temple of St. Sava, which after many years was completed in a magnificent way by the joint work of the state, church and people, but also our Russian friends, and today is unique in many ways and among the most beautiful Orthodox temples.