Representatives of Serbia and Belarus signed today several cooperation agreements during the visit of President of the Republic of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic to Minsk. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Mrkic signed an agreement between the two governments on cooperation in the fight against organised crime and an agreement on legal assistance in civil and criminal matters.
Serbia's Minister of Culture and Information Bratislav Petkovic signed with Belarusian Minister of Information Nikolay Panteley a memorandum on cooperation in the field of media and publishing.
The Serbian ministers are on an official two-day visit to Belarus as part of the delegation led by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.
The Serbian President and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko agreed today that Serbia and Belarus should create the basis for a much better cooperation than in the past and raise relations to the highest level possible already this year.
Nikolic thanked Lukashenko for giving him an opportunity to visit Belarus in the first year of his term in office and noted that with his visit to Belarus he wants to show that Serbia remains on the same path it has been for decades, on the path of cooperation with the whole world.
Our great wish is that Serbia becomes a member of the EU and we will fulfil all conditions that one country, sovereign, independent and proud, can fulfill, Nikolic stated.
He emphasized that Serbia ranks Belarus among her best friends and thanked Belarus for the support provided to Serbia in its fight to preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Kosovo-Metohija.
Nikolic recalled that Belarus managed to preserve its industrial production and keep the almost zero rate of unemployment during the most difficult times, and that Serbia maintained her friendships, influence throughout the world, a lot of educated people and science waiting to be applied.
We need to put this together in joint appearances on the third markets, Nikolic said, adding that businessmen and governments of the two countries will have a solid support and co-workers for better cooperation in their two presidents.
Lukashenko underlined the historic significance of the meeting with, in the light of the fact that this is the first visit of a President of Serbia to Belarus in the last 17 years.
He said that guidelines for future steps were made during the talks and that the meeting of the foreign ministers of Serbia and Belarus was agreed which will determine contours of the cooperation for the next year.
According to him, a meeting of the intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation has been agreed for the autumn which will deal with results of the Serbian-Belarusian cooperation, and the two presidents would meet at the end of this year or early next year to check the application of the agreements reached. 
The President of Serbia was welcomed by Foreign Minister of Belarus Vladimir Makei at the airport in Minsk with full state honours, and during the official visit of the Serbian delegation to Belarus more meetings are planned with Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich, Speaker of the upper house of the Belarus parliament Anatoly Rubinov and Vice President of the house of representatives of the Belarus parliament Viktor Guminsky. Source; Government