Office for Kosovo and Metohija
Government of the Republic of Serbia

Nikolić informs Widodo about heightened security risks in Kosovo-Metohija

Serbia's President Tomislav Nikolić said on Wednesday that he had informed Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, whose country does not recognize Kosovo's independence, about the presence of heightened security risks in Kosovo-Metohija, and that he voiced concern that the case of Kosovo could provide grounds to the Islamic State to declare independence, which would then be recognized by certain states.

President Nikolić told his Indonesian counterpart that Priština was plagued by religious extremism, noting that members of Albanian nationality were involved in a large number of IS terrorist operations.

Nikolić underlined that Serbia highly appreciated Indonesia’s clear, principled and unequivocal support for Serbia's territorial sovereignty and integrity, and the fact that the Republic of Indonesia did not recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija.

President Widodo said he was glad to be the host of the first-ever visit by a Serbian head of state to Indonesia, recalling that the two countries are bound by strong historical ties, having played very important roles in establishing the Non-Aligned Movement.

President Widodo noted that bilateral relations were very good and that improving economic relations was a priority, and there was room for promoting cooperation in the fields of education, culture and new technologies.

Serbia and Indonesia are jointly pressing for the historic archives of the Non-Aligned Movement summits from 1961 to 1992 to be entered into UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.