Saudi , Serbia establish diplomatic relations

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Serbia established diplomatic relations in a signing Wednesday held at the Saudi Mission to the U.N. in New York. Saudi Ambassador to the U.N. Abdullah Y. Al-Mouallimi and his Serbian counterpart, Feodor Starevic, signed yesterday evening the papers, which will now be deposited with the United Nations. Also in attendance was President of the U.N. General Assembly Vuk Jeremic. During the signing ceremony, Al-Mouallimi noted that while the two countries had not established diplomatic relations until now, there was already a history between Saudi Arabia and the former Yugoslavia, including a visit to Belgrade in 1961 by King Saud to attend the first summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. "We know that Yugoslavia dates back many centuries and Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe," Mouallimi said. Al-Mouallimi said that he hopes the issue of Kosovo will be resolved. Kosovo is a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Belgrade has yet to recognize Serbia's independence. For his part, Starevic said he was honored to be the ambassador representing Serbia in the diplomatic relations signing, saying that Saudi Arabia is the principal country of Islam and a country with a rich history. Jeremic said that he was particularly pleased to attend the ceremony, as it was an issue he had been working on when he was Serbia's foreign minister.