Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić met today in Baku with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, with whom he discussed the improvement of overall bilateral relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Deputy Prime Minister Ljajić and President Aliyev agreed that relations between the two countries were at a strategic partnership level, but that the economic cooperation should be improved to keep up with the excellent political relations.

The first steps in that direction could be the establishment of an air route between Belgrade and Baku, and further visa liberalization. Ljajić and Aliyev agreed that such steps would contribute to strengthening contacts between business people and companies from Serbia and Azerbaijan.

Ljajić and Aliyev discussed projects in the fields of energy, infrastructure, agriculture and telecommunications.

President Aliyev said that certain Azerbaijani companies were interested in the privatization of Serbian food companies, and that important infrastructure projects in Serbia could be financed from very favorable loans granted by the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan.

Together with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy and Industry Shahin Mustafayev, Ljajić chaired the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the two countries, and met with Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and Minister of Communications and High Technologies Ali Abbasov and Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev.