Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have agreed that relations between Belgrade and Ankara were currently at their best in a long time.

The two exchanged compliments with Vucic crediting Erdoğan for such a good relationship, while the Turkish president said Serbia was a friendly country and a key Balkan peace and stability player.

“In both our countries there is a strong will for the improvement of  bilateral relations at all levels,” Erdoğan, hosting Vucic who is on the two-day visit to Turkey, said.

Serbia’s president added that “a friend of Serbia – and you have shown you are that, dear President (Erdoğan ) – can always relay on our devoted and sincere friendship. One can count on Serbia, as I know Serbia can count on Turkey.”

Vucic said that the greatest credit for what have been achieved so far in bilateral relations went to Erdoğan “thanks to his enormous will, effort and energy for them to develop.”

The two spoke during the Economic Forum held in Ankara with both Turskish and Serbia’s ministers as well as businessmen.

The trade volume in 2017 between Turkey and Serbia was over a billion dollars, and Erdoğan said that he would like to see it tripled in years to come, adding tourism is one of the best fields where the two country could work together.

Vucic said that Belgrade and Ankara have expanded the trade volume nine times in the last ten years, while since the signing of the Free Trade Agreement in January it increased four times.

He told the Turkish businessmen they were more than welcome to Serbia. “Make yourself at home. All your companies will knock on the open door with me, our Prime Minister (Ana Brnabic) and our government as a whole.”

After his visit to Ankara, Vucic goes to Moscow for a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and will attend the May 9 Military Parade in the Russian capital.