09 October 2017•Update: 09 October 2017
By Talha Ozturk
BELGRADE, Serbia
A major free-trade deal is likely to take center-stage in a two-day visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Serbia which begins on Tuesday.
Arriving on Monday evening after a one-day official visit to Ukraine, Erdogan will spend Tuesday and Wednesday in the Balkan country.
Erdogan is scheduled to meet his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic and the country's parliament speaker. They will also hold talks on bilateral issues and sign a range of agreements.
The leaders are also expected to attend the Turkey-Serbia Business Forum.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, speaking after a meeting with Turkish ambassador Tanju Bilgic, said the Erdogan visit was crucial for improving ties between the two countries.
Brnabic said a free-trade agreement was critical for the strengthening of economic and trade ties.
‘Turning point’
More recently, Bilgic said Erdogan's official visit to Serbia was "a historical visit in terms of Turkey and Serbia relations, a turning point".
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Bilgic said an agreement on the establishment of a high-level cooperation council between Turkey and Serbia would also be signed:
"We have similar agreements with [other] countries in the region, and when this mechanism is established, relations between two countries develop much faster, and regular meetings are held every year in the form of the Council of Ministers, so we will have senior contacts every year in Serbia."
"The business forum is one of the most important legs of the visit and we are expecting a lot of businessmen from Turkey.
“During the visit, a textile company will also sign an agreement to invest in Kraljevo. In other words, the company will employ 2,500 people," Bilgic added.
Cooperation protocols in transportation, water and forestry will also be signed this week.
Other important issues, such as the renovation of the Bayrakli mosque in Belgrade, the development of children's centers and the restoration of the country’s Ottoman heritage will also be discussed.
Erdogan will visit the Damad Ali Pasha Tomb in Belgrade Fortress, an Ottoman structure which is undergoing renovation by a Turkish development agency.
He will also visit the Sokullu Mehmet Pasha Fountain, another Ottoman-era feature in Belgrade before going to the southern Muslim-majority city of Novi Pazar on Wednesday.
"The visit to Novi Pazar is important for us because those who migrated to Turkey from that region are the most important legs of the friendship bridge between the two countries," said Bilgic.
Ambassador Bilgic also said a permanent free trade agreement could boost bilateral Turkish-Serbian trade, currently worth around $1 billion.
