Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chair of the Serbian Caucus,today led a bipartisan letter to President Joe Biden with Serbian Caucus co-chair Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. The letter marked the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Serbia and urged President Biden to continue deepening ties between our countries.
“Serbia plays an important strategic role in the Balkans at the social, political, and geographic crossroads of Eastern and Western Europe. We must continue to strengthen our relationship by deepening cooperation based on policies and engagement of mutual interest and shared respect. I am honored to lead my colleagues in this effort to recognize our relationship, which has spanned World Wars, the Cold War, and so much more,” said Tenney.
Tenney was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity when she was younger to live and work in the Balkans. The region is both strategically and culturally important to Europe and the world. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who also serves on the Europe Subcommittee, Tenney is continuously working to advance peace, prosperity, and stability in the region. In addition to her leadership role on the Serbian Caucus, Tenney is also a member of the Congressional Caucus on Bosnia, the Congressional Caucus on Macedonia, and the Congressional Croatia Caucus. She believes strongly that dialogue, especially between countries and groups within countries, is vital to advancing our shared interests of peace and will continue to use her position on these caucuses to build understanding and bridge divides.
In part the lawmakers wrote, “Serbia and the United States share a long history as allies and partners. The 140th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between our countries is a milestone that allows us to reflect on the past, but more importantly, it should cause us to envision a future in which Serbia and the United States have found ways to deepen our ties.”
The full text of the letter is available here.
Dear President Biden,
We write to mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Serbia, and to encourage your Administration to deepen ties between our two countries.
Not many countries share a diplomatic history this extensive. The United States and Serbia were close allies during the First and Second World Wars when Americans and Serbs fought side-by-side to safeguard freedom in Europe and around the world. In WWI, according to data from the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Serbia lost 53% of its male population between the ages of 18 and 55 and 28% of the overall population. These tragic sacrifices bound our nations.
To demonstrate American solidarity with its Serbian ally, President Woodrow Wilson flew the Serbian flag above the White House. As he did this, President Wilson said, “While their territory has been devastated and their homes despoiled, the spirit of the Serbian people has not been broken. Though overwhelmed by superior forces, their love of freedom remains unabated. Brutal force has left unaffected their firm determination to sacrifice everything for liberty and independence.”
When continental war erupted again mid-century, the United States and Serbia continued their fight for freedom. Serbia proved itself to be a critical ally and sincere friend of the United States. During Operation Halyard, thousands of Serbians risked their lives to save over 500 U.S. airmen who had been shot down over Serbia. In 2020, Serbia inaugurated a monument shaped like a U.S. military transport plane to commemorate Operation Halyard. Speaking at the openingceremony, David Tabor, Commanding General at Special Operations Command Europe declared, “This is an important day and we must remember the ordinary Serbs, who did the impossible in 1944.”
During the Cold War, while Serbia was incorporated into communist Yugoslavia, Belgrade fought fiercely to maintain its independence from the Soviet Union and, in many ways, its closeness with the United States. Despite being a communist country and outside of NATO and the European Community, it cooperated with the United States in critical ways to prevent Soviet domination of Europe and advance our mutual interests.
Today, Serbia is an indispensable partner for the United States both regionally and globally. Belgrade recently demonstrated this partnership by giving refuge to over 60 Afghan RFE/RL employees and their families. While Serbia remains outside of NATO, the United States and Serbia maintain robust defense and security ties and Belgrade conducts the vast majority of its joint military exercises with the United States and other NATO members. Serbia is a member of the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and has an active partnership with the Ohio National Guard. On a per-capita basis, Belgrade is one of Europe’s largest contributors to peacekeeping missions around the world, illustrating how Serbia has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last two decades from security importer to security exporter.
Economically, Serbia enjoys one of the highest growth rates in Europe and its unemployment rate has been cut in half since 2012. According to the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the IT and innovation sector now represents 10 percent of Serbian gross domestic product and expands by 25 percent each year. U.S. companies have contributed to Serbia’s economic success with over $4 billion in investments and by employing more than 20,000 workers in the country. These companies include NCR, Ball Packaging, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Oracle, FIS, IBM, and many others. In 2018, the United States and Serbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in infrastructure projects and Bechtel is now building Serbia’s first 5G-ready highway, the $1 billion Morava Corridor project.
To sustain this economic success, Serbia, together with its Balkan neighbors, Albania and North Macedonia, is engaged in a regional economic integration process called the Open Balkans. This is an indigenous initiative by the three countries to expand commercial partnerships, foster greater people-to-people ties, and prepare themselves for the responsibilities of full membership in the European Union, which they all seek and deserve to join. It is important to notice that these dynamics and principles prove the joint aspirations of Serbia and the United States for anchoring the Balkans in the framework of Europe whole, free and at peace.
Serbia and the United States share a long history as allies and partners. The 140th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between our countries is a milestone that allows us to reflect on the past, but more importantly, it should cause us to envision a future in which Serbia and the United States have found ways to deepen our ties. As the renowned Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla, who binds our countries through his contributions to humanity, said, “Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments.”
We urge your Administration to work with our friends in Belgrade to make this vision a reality.
Sincerely, ### |