I’m delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to CorD’s publication recognizing the close ties and productive partnership between Serbia and the United States of America. Our two countries share a historical alliance, benefit from today’s productive collaboration, and I look forward to even closer ties in the future
This summer, Serbia and the United States will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Serbia Day in the United States, when the Serbian flag flew over the White House and President Woodrow Wilson encouraged Americans to keep our Serbian allies in their thoughts and prayers.
We are proud of our shared past of course. Perhaps even more important for Serbia’s future are the things we are doing together today. We agree with President Vučić: Serbia’s future lies in the European Union. Serbia is making considerable strides toward membership. As it implements the reforms necessary to join, Serbia will benefit from the peace, stability, prosperity, and rising living standards that are the hallmarks of strong European democracies.
The United States and Serbia are working together every day to move Serbia closer to its goal of joining the European Union and to build a Balkans region that is peaceful and prosperous
The people of the United States continue to support Serbia in achieving its goal of EU membership, including by providing millions of dollars annually to support rule of law and law enforcement reforms, military training, economic development, border securitization, and capacity-building for civil society. U.S. development assistance to Serbia has been substantial, totalling almost $1 billion since 2001.
American companies increasingly see Serbia as a good place to do business. Serbia’s high-quality, multilingual workforce attracts private investment. We enjoy a strong economic partnership, with roughly $4 billion in U.S. investments and almost 20,000 Serbians employed by U.S.-owned companies. And that number grows every day.
The United States and Serbia are working together every day to move Serbia closer to its goal of joining the European Union and to build a Balkans region that is peaceful and prosperous. We will continue that work in the coming year, and we expect our joint successes to continue.