Vucic: Jordan has confirmed it will participate in EXPO 2027

SOFIA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday in Sofia, where he is attending an Aqaba Process summit on the Balkans, that King Abdullah II of Jordan had confirmed to him the country would participate in EXPO 2027 in Belgrade, and added that he expected Serbia to open an embassy in Jordan soon.

"We had the first sessions of the Aqaba Process this morning. The process was established in 2016, and the initiator of the entire process for various regions but, above all, for the Middle East, was King Abdullah II," Vucic told reporters.

He said he had had a bilateral meeting with King Abdullah II and that he expected to see a major advancement of the relations between Belgrade and Amman.

"And I expect us to open an embassy in Jordan soon. Also, I believe that, through religious processes of reconciliation and a more significant role of Jordan in our relations in the region, we can achieve some kind of reduction of tensions. At the same time, this is also important for us because of the policy we have in the Middle East. I also spoke with Prince Hashim and, of course, with (Bulgarian President) Rumen Radev - I had a long bilateral meeting with both of them last night. I can say King Abdullah confirmed to me that Jordan will take part in EXPO 2027. I expect the same from Bulgaria," Vucic said.

He said Friday's discussions had not been easy, especially due to the presence of the president of the so-called Kosovo.

"But we cannot discuss that because of the Chatham House rules - you do understand that we presented different arguments. (Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Chairperson) Mrs (Zeljka) Cvijanovic spoke about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is evidently becoming more and more difficult. So, those are the things we discussed today," Vucic said.