Serbia, Kuwait boost bilateral relations

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah today agreed that their countries should both continue and improve their cooperation.
Nasser al-Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah and Mirko Cvetkovic

Following the meeting with Al-Sabah Cvetkovic told the press that the door to prospective Kuwaiti investors are open in Serbia, adding that economic cooperation between the two countries is the best way to overcome the global economic crisis.

He stressed that the Serbian government greatly appreciates Kuwait’s principled stance on Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity regarding the issue of Kosovo-Metohija.

The Serbian Prime Minister recalled that upholding international law is the basis of this stance, a view shared by the Kuwaiti government.

Cvetkovic noted that Serbia and Kuwait have had satisfactory relations for quite some time, voicing his belief that talks in Belgrade will additionally improve these relations and help to strengthen the political dialogue and cooperation in the economic, financial, investment and cultural sectors, military industry and other spheres.

He said that the overall trade between the two countries, although very intensive in the past, stood at less than $500,000 in the first half of 2009, adding his hopes that it will increase in the future.

Al-Sabah, who is heading the Kuwaiti delegation on its official visit to Serbia, voiced his gratitude for Serbia’s support during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait led by former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein.

You stood by our side in the international arena during those events, you were devoted to international law and we are deeply grateful for that, the Kuwaiti Prime Minister said.

He said that Serbia and Kuwait have close political, economic and cultural ties.

After the meeting, Serbian Culture Minister Nebojsa Bradic and Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah signed a programme of cultural cooperation between Serbia and Kuwait.

An agreement on tourism cooperation was signed by Serbian Minister of Trade and Services Slobodan Milosavljevic and Kuwait's Commerce and Industry Minister Ahmad al-Haroun. Another agreement on economic and technical cooperation was signed by Serbian Minister of Labour and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic and Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shamali.

A protocol concerning civil aviation was signed by Director General of the Civil Aviation Directorate Nebojsa Starcevic and Head of Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Favaz Abdul Aziz al-Farah.

The signing of these agreements was attended also by Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac and Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic, as well as members of the Kuwaiti delegation.

Djokovic, Zimonjic win Paris Masters

Paris, FRANCE, November 15, 2009 - Third-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia has won his first Paris Masters title by defeating Gael Monfils of France 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3).Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his final match against Gael Monfils Photo: AFP
At 6-2, 3-0 up Djokovic appeared to be cruising toward his first Paris Masters title, but the home favourite found his way back into the match.

The 22-year-old Serb again looked set for victory when he led 4-1 in the decider but again Monfils battled back to level at 4-4 and the final went all the way to a tie-break.

Djokovic led from the start in that, bagged an early mini-break and held on to clinch the title in two hours and 45 minutes when Monfils double faulted with the Serb 6-3 ahead.

Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic and his partner Daniel Nestor of Canada won their ninth title of the season, defeating Spaniards Marcello Granollers and Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4 at the Paris Masters.

International bodies must react to registration of entry into Kosovo-Metohija

The Serbian Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija stated today that it has urgently contacted representatives of the international community, EU and the UN in Kosovo-Metohija, about the registration of entry into the southern province at some administrative line checkpoints.

According to the statement, they are aware of the situation and the Ministry has pointed to the fact that this is unacceptable and opposed to the decrees of the UN and Security Council Resolution 1244.

The Ministry has demanded from the representatives of the international community to react urgently to put a stop to such provocative actions and to ensure that similar occurrences do not take place in the future.

Such moves can only further complicate an already complex situation in Kosovo-Metohija and are a deliberate attempt to pressurize the Serbian community, particularly those living south of the Ibar, concludes the statement.

Tadić, Berlusconi open Serbia-Italy summit

Source: B92, FoNet, Tanjug





ROME -- Serbian PM Mirko Cvetković and his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi signed on Friday in Rome a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Serbian President Boris Tadić.

The declaration was signed as part of the Serbia-Italy summit attended by the prime ministers of the two states and the Serbian president, as well as nine Serbian cabinet minister and their Italian counterpart.

The document signed today envisages support for acceleration of Serbia's EU integration, privileged bilateral relations and exchange of experts in all sectors.

The first summit organized between the two countries started today with a meeting between Tadić and Berlusconi.

Three memorandums on cooperation with Italian regions, and a number of agreements covering energy, infrastructure, agriculture, culture, education, military cooperation, internal affairs and environment sectors, are also to be signed.

Earlier in the day, Tadić said he had received support from Italy for Greek PM Giorgios Papandreu's plan to have all the Western Balkan countries in EU in 2014.

"Serbia considers EU membership to be an irreplaceable strategic goal and we expect that the Greek plan and the plan of its prime minister, 'Agenda 2014', will be realized for the whole of the Balkans. We have gained Italy's support on this issue," stated Tadić.

"Italy supports Serbia's EU integration with all its might," said he.

Tadic congratulated Nadja Higl

Serbian President Boris Tadic congratulated Serbian swimmer Nadja Higl for her victory in 200m breaststroke in the finals of the World Cup in small pools in Stockholm. She won gold medal and set a new state record having swum the section in 2 minutes, 18 seconds and 54 hundredths.

European Parliament favours visa free regime for Serbia from Dec 19

European Parliament MPs today adopted the report proposing that EU interior ministers abolish visas for the citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia starting from December 19. The declaration from the report, which the Parliament’s rapporteur for visa liberalisation Tanya Fayon read before the voting, says that Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia have met all the conditions for visa abolishment, adding that the Parliament proposes they should be exempt from visa requirements as of December 19.

A total of 550 MPs voted in favour of the resolution proposal, 51 were against it and 37 abstained from voting.

The European Parliament resolution is consultative in nature and is in the form of a political recommendation, while the final decision on visa abolishment will be made by the EU Council of Ministers before November 30.

The declaration adds that other Western Balkan states should also be exempt from Schengen visa requirements, including Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, as soon as they meet the conditions from the roadmap.

Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration Bozidar Djelic and European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot also attended the voting, after which Djelic stated that the adoption of the European Parliament’s resolution on visa abolishment is an important day for Serbia’s EU integration process.

This shows that there are no more doubts about the Western Balkan’s European future, Djelic said noting that 86% of MPs voted in favour of the proposal, which is much more than expected.

We have been waiting more than 18 years for this day and the applause that followed came from all parties, the left and the right wing, the greens and the democrats, from people who might hold a different opinion about many issues, but this shows that the entire Europe endorses visa liberalisation for our country. This is a huge success for our citizens and I sincerely congratulate them on it, the Deputy Prime Minister concluded.

Djokovic rules Basel, Federer in misery

Author: Blic online | Foto: Reuter

Serbia’s top tennis player wins Swiss star’s hometown event

Novak Djokovic rules Basel. The Serbian tennis star played one of his best matches yesterday when he beat Roger Federer in the final of Basel, hometown of the Swiss tennis giant. In the hostile environment of the cram-packed St Jakob arena in Basel, Djokovic faced not only the world’s number one, but also Federer’s ardent supporters. The 6-4 4-6 6-2 win was fought out after 151 minutes of play, while the Serb crowned his performance with a terrific display in the third set.

The two have now met 14 times, while Federer leads 9-5 in head-to-head career wins over Djokovic. Nonetheless, the Serb is now 3-2 up in clashes with Federer in 2009. Basel has come as Djokovic’s fourth title of the season after the trophies from the events in Dubai, Belgrade and Beijing, and 15th career title. Djokovic was awarded with €291,700 and additional 500 ATP points for the win at Basel, and now trails Rafael Nadal in the ATP Race by only 455 points ahead of the Paris tournament, which all guarantees a thrilling closure to the season.
- “I wish to thank all of those who participated in the organization of this event. Also, thank you for the hospitality you have shown not only towards me, but also my team and family. The number of people who have supported me has made me feel at home. I will be here next year, no doubt,” Novak said upon being handed the Basel champion’s trophy.
Federer, who had been aiming to set a record with four consecutive wins at the event in his home country, had to settle for the runner-up place.
- “All credit to Novak on his win, I wish him all the best in the rest of the season. I really love to play here in Switzerland, especially at this event and I have to thank the fans for their exceptional support. Big thanks to all my townsmen and I promise to return next year,” said Federer.
Djokovic had known before the final the key to success in Basel was great serving. He was forced to get the best of his first shot in every serve game and press the Swiss as hard as he could. Djokovic excelled in the opening set and Federer was miles away from getting a break opportunity by the time it was 4-4 in the first set. Then the Serb played one of the best games in the match to break his opponent after converting the third opportunity to take the 5-4 lead.
Federer’s reputation precedes the great champion and the Swiss came out strong when it mattered. Novak knew he would have to be at his best in the following game as the two aces cancelled each other in a game which lasted over 20 minutes. Although Federer had five chances to rebreak and restore parity, Djokovic showed he had nerves of steel and converted the seventh set point to win the set 6-4.
Support for Federer increased in the St Jakob arena, but it was Djokovic who opened the second set on top. He instantly broke Federer, won the next game at his own serve and looked to be on his way of winning the final match. However, Federer proved his merit and found a way out of the grim situation. The current king of tennis went on a series of 3 games and the set was again in the balance. The Swiss kept his nerve in the deciding moments of the set and had two set points at Djokovic’s serve. He blew the first one but converted the second one to level the overall score after 93 minutes of play.
After winning the second set, Federer had the psychological edge over his opponent and was expected to go for a more offensive approach carried by the magnificent support from the home fans. Against all odds, Djokovic produced arguably his finest set of the year and swept past the Swiss in the decider. The Serb went 4-0 up and all Federer could do was to win a couple of his serve games.

Zimonjic, Nestor win doubles trophy
Serbian tennis player Nenad Zimonjic and Canada’s Daniel Nestor have won the doubles event at Basel. The two beat their great rivals – Bob and Mike Bryan of the USA – in the final, earning the trophy with a convincing 6-2 6-3 win. This is Zimonjic and Nestor’s eighth title of the season.

The win in Basel has brought Zimonjic and Nestor 500 ATP points and further €71,500 worth of prize money.
Zimonjic and Nestor were strong straight from the blocks and broke their opposition in the first game. The pair maintained their own serve and broke the Bryan twins again to make it 5-2 in the opening set. The rest was formality.
In the second set, the Serb and the Canadian broke the American pair to come to a 2-1 lead, but Bob and Mike Bryan bounced back to overturn the score to 3-2 in their advantage. Still, that was all the American pair could come up with in the final, as Zimonjic and Nestor won all the remaining games in the set and claimed the Basel doubles title.