Aleksandar Vucic's Visit to Türkiye (2026)

The state visit of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to Türkiye was conducted in Ankara on February 12, 2026. During the visit, bilateral and delegation-level meetings were held with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a joint press conference was held, and a joint declaration was issued between the two countries.

^{President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic together at the Presidential Complex, February 12, 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the entrance of the Presidential Complex. Erdoğan and Vucic took photographs in front of the Turkish and Serbian flags on the stairs, after which they proceeded to their talks.

A bilateral meeting was held first between President Erdoğan and Serbian President Vucic, followed by a delegation-level meeting. The talks were attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan and Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler. The delegation accompanying Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on his visit to Ankara included the following members:

• Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marko Djurić
• Minister of Defense Bratislav Gašić
• Minister without Portfolio Usame Zukorlić, responsible for consensus, regional cooperation and social stability in the Council of Ministers
• Minister of Economy Adrijana Mesarović
• Deputy Minister of Defense Nenad Radomirović

Following the meetings, Erdoğan and Vucic attended the signing ceremony of agreements and held a joint press conference. According to reports in the Serbian media, the two leaders announced that Erdoğan would visit Belgrade and Novi Pazar in May or June.

^{Serbian President Vucic is received with an official ceremony, February 13, 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during the joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, made statements regarding relations between the two countries, economic cooperation, and regional developments.

Erdoğan addressed what the two nations could do to preserve stability in the Balkans and strengthen economic development. Saying that "trade and investments between Türkiye and Serbia have become the locomotive of our relations," Erdoğan noted: "Total trade volume reached $3.5 billion last year. We are steadily moving closer to our target of $5 billion. We previously announced our participation in Expo 2027 to be held in Belgrade under Serbia’s presidency. We believe this important event will serve as an additional opportunity to enhance economic, commercial and cultural ties between our countries. We are pleased by the interest shown by our investors in Serbia. While around 100 Turkish-capital firms operated in Serbia in 2015, today this number has surpassed 1,500 with total investments reaching $300 million."

Erdoğan recalled that he and Vucic last held the 4th High-Level Cooperation Council Meeting in Belgrade on October 11, 2024. "Significant developments have occurred in bilateral relations and on regional and global issues since then," Erdoğan said, adding that they assessed the impact of these developments on Türkiye-Serbia relations and discussed forward-looking steps.

^{President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic together at the Presidential Complex, February 12, 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

Erdoğan noted that "Turkish contractors have supported housing, road and infrastructure development in Serbia through more than 100 projects they have undertaken," and added that "it is clear that this progress has been made possible by Serbian President Vucic’s development strategy focused on infrastructure investment and growth." Erdoğan stated: "I would like to reiterate once again that we also welcome investors from Serbia in Türkiye."

Erdoğan emphasized that human relations form a vital dimension of the ties between the two countries, pointing out that "the most beautiful manifestation of the public’s desire to know each other better is the growing number of mutual tourists."

Erdoğan said: "Today Türkiye is the second most preferred tourism destination for Serbian tourists. Our citizens also top the list of tourists visiting Serbia. Today we also discussed increasing flights between Türkiye and Serbia to further boost and facilitate these visits."

Erdoğan noted strong interest in learning Turkish in Serbia and underscored that "efforts are underway to adequately meet this demand through institutions such as the Yunus Emre Institute and the Türkiye Maarif Foundation."

^{Joint press conference held by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, February 13, 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

Erdoğan extended congratulations to the Muslim community in Serbia on the approaching holy month of Ramadan and continued: "In a time of growing uncertainty in the world, Türkiye is working with all its strength to establish peace and tranquility in our immediate neighborhood and beyond. We never neglect the Balkans, which hold a special place for us in these efforts. I therefore regard President Vucic’s visit as highly valuable. On one hand, we are strengthening our bilateral relations with regional countries; on the other, we are striving to create conditions that support the peace and prosperity of our peoples through initiatives based on regional ownership. We hosted the second meeting of the Balkan Peace Platform in Istanbul on January 23, 2026, one of the latest examples of this approach. I would like to thank President Vucic for his personal support of this platform."

Erdoğan again thanked Serbian President Vucic for the visit and expressed hope that the decisions taken would bring blessings to both countries and the region. At Vucic’s invitation, Erdoğan said: "InshAllah, within the months of May and June, we will also make our visit to Belgrade and Novi Pazar with a broad delegation.""

^{Joint press conference held by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, February 13, 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made statements during the joint press conference. Vucic said: "As two friendly countries that have known each other for a long time, we had very open and pleasant talks, which made me very happy." He emphasized that both sides approached each other with mutual respect.

Vucic highlighted that "President Erdoğan is not only a major leader in Türkiye and the region but also globally," and underscored the importance of the outcomes reached during the meeting.

Vucic recalled: "When we set the goal of increasing the trade volume between our two countries from $800–900 million to $5 billion a few years ago, there was skepticism about its feasibility." He added: "We have now reached $3.5 billion. The target set by President Erdoğan was indeed an excellent approach. I am extremely pleased that he set this goal."

"Serbia is a much smaller country than Türkiye. We know we cannot be Türkiye’s most important partner. But Türkiye is an extremely important partner for Serbia."" Vucic said, noting that "we are fully aware of Türkiye’s significant role in political, economic, military and defense matters."

^{Joint press conference held by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, February 13, 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

Vucic shared that during the meeting they discussed Türkiye’s investments in Serbia and noted that some Serbians are unaware of the investments Turkish companies have made, especially in Serbia’s lower-income regions, and the job opportunities they have created. "I hope we will organize the most significant visit by President Erdoğan to our country." He announced that he would sign agreements on transportation and infrastructure projects related to Kraljevo, the Sandžak region, Novi Pazar and Jarinje.

Vucic pointed out that Turkish companies have won the tender for the railway project connecting Belgrade and Niš, in addition to road projects, and added: "They have also won the Sofia-Budapest connection project, which is extremely important for business circles."

He noted that the connectivity project will facilitate travel for tourists from Türkiye, Serbia and other countries, highlighting that foreign visitors will be able to use Istanbul as a gateway to other Turkish cities.

Vucic emphasized that "Serbia’s participation in Expo 2027 in Türkiye is extremely significant" and thanked both Erdoğan and his foreign policy team. He stated: "This participation is very meaningful for Serbia." He added that if President Erdoğan has time during his visit to Serbia, he could visit Belgrade and the Sandžak region to assess the developments there.

Vucic continued: "Finally, we discussed our joint committee. Next month we will have a very intensive program. We have appointed a co-chair on our side and on the 26th a friendship group will be established in parliament. Therefore, many issues that have been delayed and are under our responsibility will now be resolved. Corrective steps have been taken. In this way, we will be able to achieve very concrete results in the coming period. I am very satisfied with what we have accomplished so far."

Vucic affirmed that he considers President Erdoğan’s Balkan Peace Platform initiative extremely important: "I support President Erdoğan’s Balkan Peace Platform initiative. It is extremely important and if an invitation is extended, I will accept it. I am certain that President Erdoğan will have other initiatives and proposals as well." He stressed the importance of bringing the peoples of the Balkans together and added: "President Erdoğan is a much more experienced leader. Sometimes I say something and President Erdoğan may not always immediately approve of it. But because he is a very wise person, he waits for the dust to settle. As a leader who knows very well how peace must be established, I want to thank you for always listening to us and for wanting to listen.

Vucic noted that he comes from a country that respects leaders who seek peace and expressed deep respect for Erdoğan’s leadership. He said he had eagerly awaited Erdoğan’s visit and that extensive preparations had been made for it.

Vucic highlighted that the two sides discussed many issues related to the Western Balkans and said: "For the first time today we spoke about military and technical cooperation and cooperation between our armed forces. If we can realize such cooperation, I believe we can jointly preserve peace and secure a bright future for all nations."

Vucic thanked Erdoğan for his hospitality, saying: "It is always very difficult to compare hospitality anywhere in the world with that of Türkiye, but when you are our guest, at least we want you to feel this same sentiment."

^{Joint press conference held by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, February 13, 2026 - (Anadolu Agency)}

Following the meetings in Ankara between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a joint declaration was issued between Türkiye and Serbia.

According to the announcement from the Presidency of Communication, the parties expressed their satisfaction with the progress achieved in bilateral relations in recent years, based on the Joint Political Declaration on the Establishment of the High-Level Cooperation Council signed in 2017.

The full text of the joint declaration is as follows:

"During the meetings, involving the participation of relevant ministers and conducted within the framework of the forward-looking common vision outlined by the two leaders, the parties:

- Expressed satisfaction with the multidimensional cooperation developed on the basis of mutual benefit in various fields;

- Agreed to deepen cooperation in foreign policy, economic and commercial relations, defense industry, culture, tourism, education, energy, transportation, connectivity, advanced technologies, environment and other areas;

- Decided that the next meeting of the Türkiye-Serbia Joint Economic Commission, which forms the backbone of economic and commercial relations, should be held as soon as possible;

- Welcomed the increase in bilateral trade volume to $3.5 billion in 2025 and emphasized the importance of jointly taking the necessary steps to raise this figure to $5 billion in the coming years;

- Noted their satisfaction with the rising number of mutual tourists, which sets a new record every year and contributes significantly to the closeness between the two peoples;

- Applauded the successful contributions of Turkish firms active in construction and contracting to infrastructure projects in Serbia covering transportation and energy;

- Highlighted their satisfaction with ongoing efforts to strengthen agreements in the fields of advanced technologies and education;

- Reaffirmed their readiness to continue existing bilateral and regional cooperation initiatives aimed at strengthening peace and stability in the region;

- Expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the first two meetings of the Balkan Peace Platform held on July 26, 2025 and January 23, 2026;

- Underlined the importance of Expo 2027 Belgrade for regional economic growth and cooperation;

- Recognizing the key role of the private sector in increasing trade and investment, decided to accelerate the work of the Türkiye-Serbia Business Council, established in 2002;

- Reaffirmed their determination to enhance cooperation in the defense industry, as agreed at the 4th High-Level Cooperation Council Meeting held in Belgrade in October 2024;

- Decided to take necessary steps to accelerate cooperation in civil aviation, culture and tourism;

- Emphasized their belief that reciprocal, regular high-level visits will further deepen cooperation between the two countries;

- Agreed to hold the next Council meeting as soon as possible.

This declaration was adopted in Ankara on February 12, 2026 in Turkish, Serbian and English languages." ^【1】

The High-Level Cooperation Council between Türkiye and Serbia was established in October 2017, with the presidents of both countries serving as chairs. To date, four meetings of the High-Level Cooperation Council have been held. The most recent meeting took place in Belgrade in October 2024 during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Serbia. At this meeting, 11 bilateral international agreements were signed.

Since 2017, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Aleksandar Vucic have met 14 times. These meetings include official visits and talks held on the margins of international gatherings.

This visit marked Vucic’s eighth visit to Türkiye since 2017. Since 2017, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made three visits to Serbia, with the most recent one occurring in 2024.

The trade volume between the two countries in 2025 amounted to approximately $3.5 billion. Of this amount, $1.2 billion stems from Serbia’s exports to Türkiye, with the remainder consisting of Türkiye’s imports from Serbia. Serbia’s main exports to Türkiye include copper, rubber and food products.

Burhanettin Duran, Director of the Presidency of Communication, made a statement regarding the joint press conference held between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

"The strengthening of Türkiye-Serbia relations day by day is encouraging. Our trade volume, which reached $3.5 billion last year, demonstrates our determined progress toward our $5 billion target," Duran said, adding: "As our President stated, while around 100 Turkish-capital firms operated in Serbia in 2015, today this number has surpassed 1,500 and our investments have reached $300 million. This figure reflects a tangible manifestation of our economic partnership. Strong ties between our peoples are also evident in tourism. As our President noted, Türkiye is the second most preferred tourism destination for Serbian tourists, while our citizens top the list of tourists visiting Serbia."

"In a time of growing global uncertainty, Türkiye continues resolutely to fulfill its responsibility to establish peace, stability and tranquility. President Erdoğan’s emphasis that 'we never neglect the Balkans' signals that the Balkans will remain a priority region for our country."