Pupin Initative with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma Ahead of the Official Announcement of the Strategic Dialogue

The US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Verma, met with the Executive Director of the Pupin Initiative, Vuk Velebit, and Advisory Board member Ivan Trifunović, ahead of the official announcement of the Strategic Dialogue on January 10th.

The Pupin Initiative first presented its Proposal for the Strategic Dialogue between Serbia and the US in September last year, during the inaugural Pupin Forum in DC, and later in October at the Media Center in Belgrade. We now witness its official realization.

The Strategic Dialogue is a diplomatic framework tool to enhance cooperation between countries. Serbia and the US will negotiate certain topics and fields for which they will have regular, planned meetings. The leading field should be the economy, especially regarding innovation and tech, followed by energy, and then security and defense.

This way, Serbia's political importance will increase in Washington, which has previously paid more attention to other actors in the region. Vice versa, the US will gain importance in Belgrade, improving on a long overlooked "pillar" of Serbia's "four pillar" foreign policy strategy which will benefit both sides, balancing Russian and Chinese influence and decreasing Serbia's dependence.

The establishment of a Strategic dialogue is also a clear message to interested investors that Serbia is a desirable and credible country to do business in. Together with the recently obtained investment-grade credit rating, it is expected to encourage more American investments in Serbia.