New era of US-Serbian relations: US State Department Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy speaks for Telegraf

Photo: Nikola Tomic

US State Department Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers was this week in the Serbian capital, where she signed the agreement on the participation of the United States in EXPO 2027 in Belgrade.

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During her visit to Belgrade, she met with President Aleksandar Vucic, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djuric, and other Serbian officials.

In an exclusive interview with Telegraf.rs, Ms. Rogers talked about how she sees relations between the US and Serbia, going forward.

Our interlocutor stated that Serbia and the United States are entering a new era of relations and that the victory of US President Donald Trump is a serendipitous event in this regard.

"We have two mega events coming up that are a great chance to showcase the new era of US-Serbian relations. That is the 250th anniversary of my country, and EXPO 2027, the first EXPO in the Western Balkans," the US official said, emphasizing that she believes that this is the right time to improve relations.

"This is a really great time to start fresh and highlight our friendship and our commercial ties," Ms. Rogers said.

We also spoke about the way United States will celebrate 250 years of independence.

"We have a public-private fundraising initiative called Freedom 250, where American companies, American embassies and the American government are working together to throw parties and host huge events throughout the world and throughout the year," said Ms. Rogers.

The US Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy added that the US embassy in our country is participating in this.

"Our embassy in Belgrade is organizing a street sports festival, coming up soon. We know that Serbians love basketball, as we do too. If you look at all the Serbians in the NBA, I think that's just one tiny example of all the places that our countries' interests and attitudes intersect," said Ms. Rogers.

Sarah Rogers and Serbian Minister of Trade and EXPO 2027 Commissioner Jagoda Lazarevic, as well as the director of the EXPO 2027 company, Danilo Jerinic, on Monday signed a document confirming the participation of the United States in the specialized exhibition that will be held in Belgrade next year.

The contract, signed at the EXPO playground, enables the implementation of further operational steps for the US as an official partipant. On that occasion, Minister Lazarevic stated that the US will have a large pavilion and added that she believes this country will contribute significantly to the event, which Serbia considers a great development opportunity.

According to the minister, the US participation in EXPO 2027 is extremely important because, in addition to the interesting events that are expected at the US pavilion, there will also be opportunities to expand business cooperation.

(Telegraf.rs)