Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic signed on 4. September 2023. the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in Jakarta, where the 43rd Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)was held.

Attending the formal ceremony in the capital of Indonesia, Minister Dacic said that it was a great honour for him that he, on behalf of the Serbian Government, signed the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and added that it was an event of great importance for Serbia in terms of the further promotion of cooperation with friendly countries. 

The Serbian Foreign Minister recalled that Serbia was a successor to the former Yugoslavia and that it was proud of its decades-long friendship with the countries of Southeast Asia, dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, when the Non-Aligned Movement was being founded.

”We have exceptionally friendly feelings towards Indonesia and other countries that are members of ASEAN", Dacic said.

He emphasized that the principles that Serbia had adhered to for many years were also the principles of ASEAN, namely - mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all nations, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, settlement of all differences by peaceful means.

“Therefore, I will be pleased to sign the instrument today, and I would like to thank you very much for your trust”, Dacic said in Jakarta.

In July this year, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, i.e., Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam and Myanmar, unanimously approved Serbia's request for accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

The accession to this treaty opens up opportunities to Serbia for closer dialogue, cooperation and involvement in various ASEAN networks and platforms, but also contributes to the promotion of substantial cooperation in the economic and socio-cultural areas between Serbia and that bloc.

The most important areas of cooperation between ASEAN and the countries that signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia include economic cooperation, education and the development of people-to-people connectivity, science, technology and innovation and sustainable development, while with certain countries ASEAN develops cooperation in other specific areas as well.

Serbia submitted a formal request to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in 2013.