Serbia to open 10 new embassies?

The reform plan for the Serbian diplomatic-consular network, which might entail the closing of several embassies and consulates, but also the opening of a dozen new representations in the countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific region, might soon be put on the agenda of the Government of Serbia.

The economic and the political validity of Serbia's diplomatic and consular representations has been analyzed for several months now within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and according to our information, three criteria will be used by top state authorities in deciding on the potential closing of the existing representations or the opening of new ones. The criteria are the size of the Serbian diaspora, the economic potentials of new markets and, the key one – the strengthening of presence in the countries important to the defense of Kosovo.

The state authorities estimate that Serbia doesn't have embassies in some very important countries for Serbia that have not recognized K&M, such as Vietnam, Venezuela, Chile and Palestine. The establishment of Serbian diplomatic and consular representations in Peru, Ghana, Cambodia, a range of African countries, as well as the Caribbean and the Pacific areas, is also being considered.

The government reached the decision to have the embassy in Zimbabwe reopened last September. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced the opening of the embassy in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname.

There's also the idea to strengthen the presence in the Baltic countries, as Serbia doesn't have embassies in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. There have also been suggestions for the number of Serbia's embassies in the EU states to be reduced, but it is not likely that any radical cuts will be made for the time being. One option is for one embassy to be established in the Scandinavian countries to cover Denmark, Sweden and Norway and potentially Finland as well.

Serbia currently has 69 embassies, 24 consulates and seven standing missions. The latest change to the network of representations was carried out in April, when a general consulate office opened in Trebinje.

A consulate might also be opened in Los Angeles, as the number of Serbian citizens in the area has been growing in the past years. Some of the consulates in the region, of which there are currently six, might be closed, namely those in Mostar and Rijeka. Whether Serbia needs to keep all of its five consulates in Germany will be considered as well.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo spoljnih poslova Republike Srbije

Serbian embassies

diplomatic consular network of Serbia

consulates of Serbia

diplomatic and consular representations of Serbia

consulate in Los Angeles