On behalf of the people of the United States, I want to congratulate the people of Serbia on the occasion of your Statehood Day.
The United States values our strategic partnership with Serbia. We look forward to strengthening our bilateral ties and fostering a more stable, secure, and prosperous future for the Serbian and American people. We are committed to supporting your goal of European Union membership and we look forward to working with Serbia's new government and our European partners to assist Serbia in meeting EU accession criteria. The United States encourages Serbia to implement its commitments and press ahead through the EU-facilitated dialogue to achieve a comprehensive normalization agreement with Kosovo.
The United States looks forward to further economic, energy security, and defense cooperation with Serbia. We deeply appreciate your support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity as they continue to resist Russia's war of aggression. Serbia's participation in UN and EU peacekeeping missions and deployment alongside U.S. forces in the Multinational Forces and Observers mission in the Sinai are examples of the invaluable role Serbia plays in strengthening peace and security regionally and globally.
Finally, I offer my sincere congratulations on Serbia's successful bid to host EXPO 27 in Belgrade and wish you success as you prepare for this extraordinary event.
I wish the people of Serbia a peaceful and prosperous national day and year ahead.
