BELGRADE, Sept. 2 (Beta) - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Canadian former Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird on Sept. 1 described bilateral ties as good, but added that it was necessary to further boost cooperation, primarily economic. Vucic underlined the importance of the agreement on strategic economic cooperation from 2012, which laid ground for several projects of Canadian companies in Serbia, particularly in the energy domain, read a statement from the government.  He added that the agreement on inciting and shielding investments, inked on Sept. 1, would contribute to the further promotion of bilateral economic cooperation and encourage new investments by Canadian firms, according to the statement. The prime minister also thanked Canada for its post-flood relief aid.

Baird said that the bilateral relations should be strengthened at the highest political and economic level. He added that Ottawa understood Serbia's foreign policy position regarding the EU and Russia, particularly in the context of the Ukrainian crisis. During his stay in Serbia, Baird toured the regions most affected by the May floods and announced a possible new relief aid contingent.