Thank you very much, President, for speaking to us.
We're delighted to be speaking to you. Your op-ed in a newspaper has sparked the imaginations of a lot of Indians. Tell us your first encounter with Indians. You share one thing very in common with Mr. Modi. Both started very humbly and you started amongst Indians. Tell us a little bit about that.
You know, when I finished my regular service in the army in former Yugoslavia before we all faced violence and break up of the country, I went to London in order to earn some money, in order to buy something for myself and also to educate myself at least a bit to learn a language. And I went there and I had some Serbian and Polish friends over there and they used to work for a Sikh family and they had a hardware shop at Gloucester Road. You were no doubt visiting London at least once or many times but it's the first zone and I was living somewhere in a fourth zone and in order to save some money I was walking from the fourth to the first tube station in the third zone, leaving the train in the last of the second zone and then walking once again to the first zone to Gloucester Road and wanted to save money and was earning two pounds per hour and then 2.5 then three pounds per hour working 10 hours a day. And at the beginning I was very happy then I wanted to earn more because I was spending more. But I have to say what I learned from those people they were working, although what I was doing was selling something, mopping the floor, doing just ordinary jobs but those people were working more than me. They were coming before me to the shop, those Indian guys and one general manager was a Sikh guy and they were really so devoted, better to say than dedicated and they were so hardworking from Monday to Sunday, no day off, nothing. And always worried about the results, always worried and always calm and very rational people. And what I learned is that they were hiding their emotions because whenever we discussed something, they went emotionally, very emotional, but they were doing their best to keep their calmness and tranquility. And I really learned a lot. And after that I became one of the best students at Belgrade faculty in Serbia and well after that I started my...
Indians informed your work ethic. That's what you're saying and you learned...
This is something that I wrote but it's even more than that.
It's even more than that. And you mentioned that many Europeans around you were habituated to underestimating India but when you saw these people work you realized that that is the wrong conclusion to draw.
Not only that, there is something else which I didn't write. You know I was following closely chess and the way of playing of Viswanathan Anand. I used to love the way he was playing with even Shuk and even with the bigger players like Karpov and Kasparov at that time was wonderful. That kind of a talent of chess imagination you cannot find anywhere else apart from India. And this was something that I liked very much. And people always rely themselves on something what they feel what they saw in American movies. But what I saw and at that time it was eagerness. It was an eye of a tiger because I met Indian people that were cravingly trying to fulfill their dreams and they were investing what they had. It was their humbleness and their hard work and their dedication. Without that, doesn't matter how talented you are, you cannot achieve a lot. And this is something which I believe that I at least partly learned from Indian people.
And that's why you've written that India is not waiting for the future as many people say but helping define it. Now you met Prime Minister Modi. He's also of course put on X your article and he appreciated the sentiments there.
He was mentioning that even during our today's meeting.
That he read your article and yeah he's very good about that. He knows these details. Now I want to ask you, in your view has Narendra Modi done what has he done differently to turn India into a decisive global voice?
I can define it with three items. Number one, here's a and don't underestimate that. People always want to underestimate it to even diminish it from time to time because it's about someone else. He is number one very charismatic and hardworking leader. He is the leader that is well known all over the world in every single country in the world. India became visible because of him. He is overwhelmingly present and dominant in all different as I already said parts of the world. That's number one. Number two, he insisted and he defined a foreign policy of India of a country or subcontinent, name it you want in a way you want as independent and sovereign.
Yes. In creating and making its own decisions. It means when you speak to Narendra Modi, you speak to him and to Indian people and to Indian state without being influenced from some other powers from some other mighty centers or whatever. And number three, he successfully caught what some people might say because both our countries were missing some industrial revolutions in the past. He was catching up and not only that he contributed to India's big progress in not only overall economy but in specific areas like IT sector, digitized economy, AI industry and that brought him to the stage where he was able to discuss all the other issues and to build India as military power at one hand as attack power on the other hand and it's something that he deserves to be praised for.
So I want to ask you this because we speak often of strategic autonomy, the country that is, and as a European leader navigating intense geopolitical pressure yourself because you've adopted the same policy, do you see merit in that doctrine?
It's you know what I saw not only in Narendra Modi's political behavior but what I saw in his eyes and his... I met him in 2017 in Gujarat Ahmedabad I was visiting there it was a very special conference, visited Gandhi's place and everything else and even at that time I saw how he was committed to his country. You see it from time to time in the eyes of a leader. And he takes care of everything. He's very committed to details. He is a control-free guy in the most positive sense because he cares. He cares about people. He cares about country. He cares. That's the best definition. And speaking about strategic autonomy and not being loved with your principled approach by many big powers, but it gives you one thing that all the others don't have it. It's respect you get from all of them. You see, America was saying something against this type of politics here in India. But after a month, Trump was attempting to get the arrangement with Narendra Modi as much as India wanted to get it or even more credibly. It's the same with Russians is the same at the end with Europeans. And we let's say have the same attitude towards the war in Ukraine, India and Serbia like someone was doing copy paste.
You're bigger... and at the end it was a fair approach because you cannot always do...
Fair. Yes. But President Vučić I have to ask you this question. There's a price to pay. India paid a big price. Can you imagine what kind of price we pay?
So I'm asking you that question because you have faced economic pressure, political isolation and attempts to weaken you. Here in our country also many people believe specifically the government. The narrative that comes from government is that strategic autonomy is leading to various players on the international stage trying to weaken India. You've used the word toolkit. There are lots of similarities. Talk a little bit about that.
You see at the end what I wanted to say but you are too emotional and fortunately you have no time for my thoughts. You see at the end Narendra Modi opened all the doors, all the gates for himself and for India. I'm not isolated at all. I speak to everybody in the world and everybody wants to speak to Serbia. It was not a case two, three, four years ago. They were even helpful to color revolution in my country but they failed. Whether there would be always different type of attempts to make India's government less strong. Let me define it this way. No doubt. No doubt. Because there are tens of players all over the world that would like to have weaker contender, weaker competitor coming from India, not a strong one. Why they would need a stronger competitor if they can win easily speaking about economic market speaking about political space or whatever. And that's why Prime Minister Modi is very much dedicated towards strengthening the military of India, strengthening the political position of India in the world and at the same time thinking and working diligently on economic progress of this big and beautiful country and it has to be combined. It has to be combined. At the end, all gates, all doors are opened. You see, he signed very recently a big free trade agreement with European Union. He made an arrangement with Americans. At the same time, he did not expel Russians and he did not spoil his relationship with Russia. You're very cautious, very prudent with your cooperation with China, but always keeping calm and tranquil and stable and everything else. This is a great politics.
So let me ask you, do countries that refuse to choose sides now face a sort of organized pressure?
Yeah, and that will always be the case. But I believe that the strength of global south which is mainly led by Narendra Modi and India is becoming bigger and bigger. We are not afraid to say openly our political stances to advocate our political position and to act in accordance with international public law observing UN charter UN resolutions which is not the case with many others.
So, Mr. President, beyond symbolism, beyond optics, how can Serbia and India deepen economic and perhaps even strategic ties in practical terms? What are your expectations?
Thank you. Thank you for asking me this question because we have had this morning very strategic but also very concrete talks with Prime Minister Modi and he was in that mood. He wanted to move things forward and to improve relationship with Serbia as well. I believe that there are at least three or four big spheres, big fields in which we can cooperate and collaborate much stronger than we used to. It's military industry cooperation with using transfer of technology. Maybe we can bring some companies here in order to build ammo factories and also you have a big need for ammunition and we still even though we are a small country can produce more shells and missiles and even bullets of different calibers than let's say much bigger France. It's in our tradition. We are accustomed to do so from the former Yugoslav times and most of these companies remain in Serbia. This is what we can do. This is a big field for our cooperation in the future. Transfer of technology and even bringing some of our companies to employ people in India and to produce it and to sell it here at Euro market. Number two is tech industry, AI, IT sector. There are already some investors coming from the name of the company is Embassy of Bangalore. They invested 25 million into Serbia. They created their startup hub and more of Indian companies might come to our country and vice versa. We believe that we created a good foundation, solid foundation, rock solid foundation for the use of artificial intelligence in the future. We built one of the biggest data centers in that part of Europe in the central Serbia and three supercomputers for the size of a country like Serbia. It's big and it is important and we are getting ready to start producing robotic machineries and everything else and this is the sphere where we can also cooperate. Speaking about fertilizer company, we have one of the biggest fertilizer companies in Southeast Europe. We can also export but also we can create a transfer of technology and producing it here if we make an arrangement with our Indian friends. There are lot of agricultural products that we can import from India and some of them we can export to India and we have already started doing so and these are the fields where we can cooperate very closely. Speaking about economic cooperation apart from huge and very good level of understanding on all different political issues in different international organizations, institutes and bodies and this is I believe now today I appointed deputy prime minister as a co-chairperson of our part of intergovernmental committee. He is very enthusiastic, Siniša Mali. He is very enthusiastic, very energetic person and he'll do our best from our side. And I invited Narendra Modi and if I may say to you because I know that Indian people are very emotional people. I said to his excellency prime minister Modi, please Mr. Prime Minister come to Serbia. You're going to feel the best hospitality you have ever felt on European soil. This is the only thing I can guarantee you. And people in Serbia, they love Indian people. Not only because of history, the same values we shared and the same position in which we are today. Although you are big, we are relatively small. But Indian people can also benefit from your visit to Serbia and I hope that I'm in power for 14 years. I hope that we'll be able to hosting, I hosted your president three years ago and I hope that we'll be able to hosting your prime minister Narendra Modi and I think that would be another step, another spark in instigating our better cooperation. But as I told you, there are many fields in which we can cooperate much better, much faster with a bigger effect in the future and we'll be jubilant to witness it.
Pleasure speaking with you, President Vučić. Thank you very much for sharing your time with us.
Viewers, hello and welcome. We're with Serbia's president Aleksandar Vučić, a man whose article in a newspaper has captured the imagination of this country. He talks about how he first encountered Indians working in London and that memory, that experience stayed with him and he after that became one of those European leaders who bet very early on India. Why did he do it? What does he make of India? What does he make of the Indian Serbian relationship? Let's speak to Aleksandar Vučić. Thank you very much, President, for speaking to us.
We're delighted to be speaking to you. Your op-ed in a newspaper has sparked the imaginations of a lot of Indians. Tell us your first encounter with Indians. You share one thing very in common with Mr. Modi. Both started very humbly and you started amongst Indians. Tell us a little bit about that.
You know, when I finished my regular service in the army in former Yugoslavia before we all faced violence and break up of the country, I went to London in order to earn some money, in order to buy something for myself and also to educate myself at least a bit to learn a language. And I went there and I had some Serbian and Polish friends over there and they used to work for a Sikh family and they had a hardware shop at Gloucester Road. You were no doubt visiting London at least once or many times but it's the first zone and I was living somewhere in a fourth zone and in order to save some money I was walking from the fourth to the first tube station in the third zone, leaving the train in the last of the second zone and then walking once again to the first zone to Gloucester Road and wanted to save money and was earning two pounds per hour and then 2.5 then three pounds per hour working 10 hours a day. And at the beginning I was very happy then I wanted to earn more because I was spending more. But I have to say what I learned from those people they were working, although what I was doing was selling something, mopping the floor, doing just ordinary jobs but those people were working more than me. They were coming before me to the shop, those Indian guys and one general manager was a Sikh guy and they were really so devoted, better to say than dedicated and they were so hardworking from Monday to Sunday, no day off, nothing. And always worried about the results, always worried and always calm and very rational people. And what I learned is that they were hiding their emotions because whenever we discussed something, they went emotionally, very emotional, but they were doing their best to keep their calmness and tranquility. And I really learned a lot. And after that I became one of the best students at Belgrade faculty in Serbia and well after that I started...
Indians informed your work ethic. That's what you're saying and you learned...
This is something that I wrote but it's even more than that.
It's even more than that. And you mentioned that many Europeans around you were habituated to underestimating India but when you saw these people work you realized that that is the wrong conclusion to draw.
Not only that, there is something else which I didn't write. You know I was following closely chess and the way of playing of Viswanathan Anand. I used to love the way he was playing with even Shuk and even with the bigger players like Karpov and Kasparov at that time was wonderful. That kind of a talent of chess imagination you cannot find anywhere else apart from India. And this was something that I liked very much. And people always rely themselves on something what they feel what they saw in American movies. But what I saw and at that time it was eagerness. It was an eye of a tiger because I met Indian people that were cravingly trying to fulfill their dreams and they were investing what they had. It was their humbleness and their hard work and their dedication. Without that, doesn't matter how talented you are, you cannot achieve a lot. And this is something which I believe that I at least partly learned from Indian people.
And that's why you've written that India is not waiting for the future as many people say but helping define it. Now you met Prime Minister Modi. He's also of course put on X your article and he appreciated the sentiments there.
He was mentioning that even during our today's meeting.
That he read your article and yeah he's very good about that. He knows these details. Now I'm going to ask you, in your view has Narendra Modi done what has he done differently to turn India into a decisive global voice?
I can define it with three items. Number one, here's a and don't underestimate that. People always want to underestimate it to even diminish it from time to time because it's about someone else. He is number one very charismatic and hardworking leader. He is the leader that is well known all over the world in every single country in the world. India became visible because of him. He is overwhelmingly present and dominant in all different as I already said parts of the world. That's number one. Number two, he insisted and he defined a foreign policy of India of a country or subcontinent, name it you want in a way you want as independent and sovereign.
Yes. In creating and making its own decisions. It means when you speak to Narendra Modi, you speak to him and to Indian people and to Indian state without being influenced from some other powers from some other mighty centers or whatever. And number three, he successfully caught what some people might say because both our countries were missing some industrial revolutions in the past. He was catching up and not only that he contributed to India's big progress in not only overall economy but in specific areas like IT sector, digitized economy, AI industry and that brought him to the stage where he was able to discuss all the other issues and to build India as military power at one hand as attack power on the other hand and it's something that he deserves to be praised for.
So I want to ask you this because we speak often of strategic autonomy, the country that is, and as a European leader navigating intense geopolitical pressure yourself because you've adopted the same policy, do you see merit in that doctrine?
It's you know what I saw not only in Narendra Modi's political behavior but what I saw in his eyes in his... I met him in 2017 in Gujarat Ahmedabad I was visiting there it was a very special conference, visited Gandhi's place and everything else and even at that time I saw how he was committed to his country. You see it from time to time in the eyes of a leader and he takes care of everything. He's very committed to details. He's a control-free guy in the most positive sense because he cares. He cares about people. He cares about country. He cares. That's the best definition. And speaking about strategic autonomy and not being loved with your principled approach by many big powers, but it gives you one thing that all the others don't have it. It's respect you get from all of them. You see, America was saying something against this type of politics here in India. But after a month, Trump was attempting to get the arrangement with Narendra Modi as much as India wanted to get it or even more credibly. It's the same with Russians is the same at the end with Europeans. And we let's say have the same attitude towards the war in Ukraine, India and Serbia like someone was doing copy paste.
You're bigger... and at the end it was a fair approach because you cannot always do...
Fair. Yes. But President Vučić I have to ask you this question. There's a price to pay. India paid a big price. Can you imagine what kind of price we pay?
So I'm asking you that question because you have faced economic pressure, political isolation and attempts to weaken you. Here in our country also many people believe specifically the government. The narrative that comes from government is that strategic autonomy is leading to various players on the international stage trying to weaken India. You've used the word toolkit. There are lots of similarities. Talk a little bit about that.
You see at the end what I wanted to say but you are too emotional and fortunately you have no time for my thoughts. You see at the end Narendra Modi opened all the doors all the gates for himself and for India. I'm not isolated at all. I speak to everybody in the world and everybody wants to speak to Serbia. It was not a case two, three, four years ago. They were even helpful to color revolution in my country but they failed. Whether there would be always different type of attempts to make India's government less strong. Let me define it this way. No doubt. No doubt. Because there are tens of players all over the world that would like to have weaker contender, weaker competitor coming from India, not a strong one. Why they would need a stronger competitor if they can win easily speaking about economic market speaking about political space or whatever and that's why Prime Minister Modi is very much dedicated towards strengthening the military of India, strengthening the political position of India in the world and at the same time thinking and working diligently on economic progress of this big and beautiful country and it has to be combined. It has to be combined at the end all gates all doors are opened. You see he signed very recently a big free trade agreement with European Union. He made an arrangement with Americans. At the same time, he did not expel Russians and he did not spoil his relationship with Russia. You're very cautious, very prudent with your cooperation with China, but always keeping calm and tranquil and stable and everything else. This is a great politics.
So let me ask you, do countries that refuse to choose sides now face a sort of organized pressure?
Yeah, and that will always be the case. But I believe that the strength of global south which is mainly led by Narendra Modi and India is becoming bigger and bigger. We are not afraid to say openly our political stances to advocate our political position and to act in accordance with international public law observing UN charter UN resolutions which is not the case with many others.
So, Mr. President, beyond symbolism, beyond optics, how can Serbia and India deepen economic and perhaps even strategic ties in practical terms? What are your expectations?
Thank you. Thank you for asking me this question because we have had this morning very strategic but also very concrete talks with Prime Minister Modi and he was in that mood. He wanted to move things forward and to improve relationship with Serbia as well. I believe that there are at least three or four big spheres, big fields in which we can cooperate and collaborate much stronger than we used to. It's military industry cooperation with using transfer of technology. We can bring some companies here in order to build ammo factories and also you have a big need for ammunition and we still even though we are small country can produce more shells and missiles and even bullets of different calibers than let's say much bigger France. It's in our tradition. We are accustomed to do so from the former Yugoslav times and most of these companies remain in Serbia. This is what we can do. This is a big field for our cooperation in the future. Transfer of technology and even bringing some of our companies to employ people in India and to produce it and to sell it here at Euro market. Number two is tech industry, AI, IT sector. There are already some investors coming from the name of the company is Embassy of Bangalore. They invested 25 million into Serbia. They created their startup hub and more of Indian companies might come to our country and vice versa. We believe that we created a good foundation, solid foundation, rock solid foundation for the use of artificial intelligence in the future. We built one of the biggest data centers in that part of Europe in the central Serbia and three supercomputers for the size of a country like Serbia. It's big and it is important and we are getting ready to start producing robotic machineries and everything else and this is the sphere where we can also cooperate. Speaking about fertilizer company, we have one of the biggest fertilizer companies in Southeast Europe. We can also export but also we can create a transfer of technology and producing it here if we make an arrangement with our Indian friends. There are lot of agricultural products that we can import from India and some of them we can export to India and we have already started doing so and these are the fields where we can cooperate very closely. Speaking about economic cooperation apart from huge and very good level of understanding on all different political issues in different international organizations, institutes and bodies and this is I believe now today I appointed deputy prime minister as a co-chairperson of our part of intergovernmental committee. He is very enthusiastic, Siniša Mali. He is very enthusiastic, very energetic person and he'll do our best from our side and I invited Narendra Modi and if I may say to you because I know that Indian people are very emotional people I said to his excellency prime minister Modi, please Mr. Prime Minister, come to Serbia. You're going to feel the best hospitality you have ever felt on European soil. This is the only thing I can guarantee you. And people in Serbia, they love Indian people. Not only because of history, the same values we shared and the same position in which we are today. Although we are big, we are relatively small. But Indian people can also benefit from your visit to Serbia and I hope that I'm in power for 14 years. I hope that we'll be able to hosting, I hosted your president three years ago and I hope that we'll be able to hosting your prime minister Narendra Modi and I think that would be another step, another spark in instigating our better cooperation. But as I told you there are many fields in which we can cooperate much better much faster with a bigger effect in the future and we'll be jubilant to witness it.
Pleasure speaking with you, President Vučić. Thank you very much for sharing your time with us.
Viewers. Hello and welcome. We're with Serbia's president Aleksandar Vučić, a man whose article in a newspaper has captured the imagination of this country. He talks about how he first encountered Indians working in London and that memory, that experience stayed with him and he after that became one of those European leaders who bet very early on India. Why did he do it? What does he make of India? What does he make of the Indian Serbian relationship? Let's speak to Aleksandar Vučić. Thank you very much, President for speaking to us.
We're delighted to be speaking to you. Your op-ed in a newspaper has sparked the imaginations of a lot of Indians. Tell us your first encounter with Indians. You share one thing very in common with Mr. Modi. Both started very humbly and you started amongst Indians. Tell us a little bit about that.
You know, when I finished my regular service in the army in former Yugoslavia before we all faced violence and break up of the country, I went to London in order to earn some money, in order to buy something for myself and also to educate myself at least a bit to learn a language. And I went there and I had some Serbian and Polish friends over there and they used to work for a Sikh family and they had a hardware shop at Gloucester Road. You were no doubt visiting London at least once or many times but it's the first zone and I was living somewhere in a fourth zone and in order to save some money I was walking from the fourth to the first tube station in the third zone, leaving the train in the last of the second zone and then walking once again to the first zone to Gloucester Road and wanted to save money and was earning two pounds per hour and then 2.5 then three pounds per hour working 10 hours a day. And at the beginning I was very happy then I wanted to earn more because I was spending more. But I have to say what I learned from those people they were working, although what I was doing was selling something, mopping the floor, doing just ordinary jobs but those people were working more than me. They were coming before me to the shop, those Indian guys and one general manager was a Sikh guy and they were really so devoted, better to say than dedicated and they were so hardworking from Monday to Sunday, no day off, nothing. And always worried about the results, always worried and always calm and very rational people. And what I learned is that they were hiding their emotions because whenever we discussed something, they went emotionally, very emotional, but they were doing their best to keep their calmness and tranquility. And I really learned a lot. And after that I became one of the best students at Belgrade faculty in Serbia and well after that I started...
Indians informed your work ethic. That's what you're saying and you learned...
This is something that I wrote but it's even more than that.
It's even more than that. And you mentioned that in my life many Europeans around you were habituated to underestimating India but when you saw these people work you realize that that is the wrong conclusion to draw.
Not only that, there is something else which I didn't write. You know I was following closely chess and the way of playing of Viswanathan Anand. I used to love the way he was playing with even Shuk and even with the bigger players like Karpov and Kasparov at that time was wonderful. That kind of a talent of chess imagination you cannot find anywhere else apart from India. And this was something that I liked very much. And people always rely themselves on something what they feel what they saw in American movies. But what I saw and at that time it was eagerness. It was an eye of a tiger because I met Indian people that were cravingly trying to fulfill their dreams and they were investing what they had. It was their humbleness and their hard work and their dedication. Without that doesn't matter how talented you are. Doesn't matter how talented you are, you cannot achieve a lot. And this is something which I believe that I at least partly learned from Indian people.
And that's why you've written that India is not waiting for the future as many people say but helping define it. Now you met Prime Minister Modi. He has also of course put on X your article and he appreciated the sentiments there.
He was mentioning that even during our today's meeting.
That he read your article and yeah he's very good about that he knows these details. Now I want to ask you, in your view has Narendra Modi done what has he done differently to turn India into a decisive global voice?
I can define it with three items. Number one, here's a and don't underestimate that. People always want to underestimate it to even diminish it from time to time because it's about someone else. He is number one very charismatic and hardworking leader. He is the leader that is well known all over the world in every single country in the world. India became visible because of him. He is overwhelmingly present and dominant in all different as I already said parts of the world. That's number one. Number two, he insisted and he defined a foreign policy of India of a country or subcontinent, name it you want in a way you want as independent and sovereign.
Yes. In creating and making its own decisions. It means when you speak to Narendra Modi, you speak to him and to Indian people and to Indian state without being influenced from some other powers from some other mighty centers or whatever. And number three, he successfully caught what some people might say because both our countries were missing some industrial revolutions in the past. He was catching up and not only that he contributed to India's big progress in not only overall economy but in specific areas like IT sector, digitized economy, AI industry and that brought him to the stage where he was able to discuss all the other issues and to build India as military power at one hand as attack power on the other hand and it's something that he deserves to be praised for.
So I want to ask you this because we speak often of strategic autonomy the country that is and as a European leader navigating intense geopolitical pressure yourself because you've adopted the same policy do you see merit in that doctrine?
It's you know what I saw not only in Narendra Modi's political behavior but what I saw in his eyes on his... I met him in 2017 in Gujarat Ahmedabad I was visiting there it was a very special conference, visited Gandhi's place and everything else and even at that time I saw how he was committed to his country. You see it from time to time in the eyes of a leader. And he takes care of everything. He's very committed to details. He's a control-free guy in the most positive sense because he cares. He cares about people. He cares about country. He cares. That's the best definition. And speaking about strategic autonomy and not being loved with your principled approach by many big powers, but it gives you one thing that all the others don't have it. It's respect you get from all of them. You see, America was saying something against this type of politics here in India. But after a month, Trump was attempting to get the arrangement with Narendra Modi as much as India wanted to get it or even more credibly. It's the same with Russians is the same at the end with Europeans. And we let's say have the same attitude towards the war in Ukraine, India and Serbia like someone was doing copy paste.
You're bigger... and at the end it was a fair approach because you cannot always do...
Fair. Yes. But President Vučić I have to ask you this question. There's a price to pay. India paid a big price. Can you imagine what kind of price we pay?
So I'm asking you that question because you have faced economic pressure, political isolation and attempts to weaken you. Here in our country also many people believe specifically the government. The narrative that comes from government is that strategic autonomy is leading to various players on the international stage trying to weaken India. You've used the word toolkit. There are lots of similarities. Talk a little bit about that.
You see at the end what I wanted to say but you are too emotional and fortunately you have no time for my thoughts. You see at the end Narendra Modi opened all the doors, all the gates for himself and for India. I'm not isolated at all. I speak to everybody in the world and everybody wants to speak to Serbia. It was not a case two, three, four years ago. They were even helpful to color revolution in my country but they failed. Whether there would be always different type of attempts to make India's government less strong. Let me define it this way. No doubt. No doubt. Because there are tens of players all over the world that would like to have weaker contender, weaker competitor coming from India, not a strong one. Why they would need a stronger competitor if they can win easily speaking about economic market speaking about political space or whatever and that's why Prime Minister Modi is very much dedicated towards strengthening the military of India, strengthening the political position of India in the world and at the same time thinking and working diligently on economic progress of this big and beautiful country and it has to be combined. It has to be combined at the end all gates all doors are opened. You see he signed very recently a big free trade agreement with European Union. He made an arrangement with Americans. At the same time, he did not expel Russians and he did not spoil his relationship with Russia. You're very cautious, very prudent with your cooperation with China, but always keeping calm and tranquil and stable and everything else. This is a great politics.
So let me ask you, do countries that refuse to choose sides now face a sort of organized pressure?
Yeah, and that will always be the case. But I believe that the strength of global south which is mainly led by Narendra Modi and India is becoming bigger and bigger. We are not afraid to say openly our political stances to advocate our political position and to act in accordance with international public law observing UN charter UN resolutions which is not the case with many others.
So, Mr. President, beyond symbolism, beyond optics, how can Serbia and India deepen economic and perhaps even strategic ties in practical terms? What are your expectations?
Thank you. Thank you for asking me this question because we have had this morning very strategic but also very concrete talks with Prime Minister Modi and he was in that mood. He wanted to move things forward and to improve relationship with Serbia as well. I believe that there are at least three or four big spheres, big fields in which we can cooperate and collaborate much stronger than we used to. It's military industry cooperation with using transfer of technology. Maybe we can bring some companies here in order to build ammo factories and also you have a big need for ammunition and we still even though we are a small country can produce more shells and missiles and even bullets of different calibers than let's say much bigger France. It's in our tradition. We are accustomed to do so from the former Yugoslav times and most of these companies remain in Serbia. This is what we can do. This is a big field for our cooperation in the future. Transfer of technology and even bringing some of our companies to employ people in India and to produce it and to sell it here at Euro market. Number two is tech industry, AI, IT sector. There are already some investors coming from the name of the company is Embassy of Bangalore. They invested 25 million into Serbia. They created their startup hub and more of Indian companies might come to our country and vice versa. We believe that we created a good foundation, solid foundation, rock solid foundation for the use of artificial intelligence in the future. We built one of the biggest data centers in that part of Europe in the central Serbia and three supercomputers for the size of a country like Serbia. It's big and it is important and we are getting ready to start producing robotic machineries and everything else and this is the sphere where we can also cooperate. Speaking about fertilizer company, we have one of the biggest fertilizer companies in Southeast Europe. We can also export but also we can create a transfer of technology and producing it here if we make an arrangement with our Indian friends. There are lot of agricultural products that we can import from India and some of them we can export to India and we have already started doing so and these are the fields where we can cooperate very closely. Speaking about economic cooperation apart from huge and very good level of understanding on all different political issues in different international organizations, institutes and bodies and this is I believe now today I appointed deputy prime minister as a co-chairperson of our part of intergovernmental committee. He is very enthusiastic, Siniša Mali. He's very enthusiastic, very energetic person and he'll do our best from our side and I invited Narendra Modi and if I may say to you because I know that Indian people are very emotional people I said to his excellency prime minister Modi, please Mr. Prime Minister, come to Serbia. You're going to feel the best hospitality you have ever felt on European soil. This is the only thing I can guarantee you. And people in Serbia, they love Indian people. Not only because of history, the same values we shared and the same position in which we are today. Although we are big, we are relatively small. But Indian people can also benefit from your visit to Serbia and I hope that I'm in power for 14 years. I hope that we'll be able to hosting, I hosted your president three years ago and I hope that we'll be able to hosting your prime minister Narendra Modi and I think that would be another step, another spark in instigating our better cooperation. But as I told you, there are many fields in which we can cooperate much better, much faster with a bigger effect in the future and we'll be jubilant to witness it.
Pleasure speaking with you, President Vučić. Thank you very much for sharing your time with us.
Viewers. Hello and welcome. We're with Serbia's president Aleksandar Vučić. A man whose article in a newspaper has captured the imagination of this country. He talks about how he first encountered Indians working in London and that memory, that experience stayed with him and he after that became one of those European leaders who bet very early on India. Why did he do it? What does he make of India? What does he make of the Indian Serbian relationship? Let's speak to Aleksandar Vučić. Thank you very much, President, for speaking to us.
We're delighted to be speaking to you. Your op-ed in a newspaper has sparked the imaginations of a lot of Indians. Tell us your first encounter with Indians. You share one thing very in common with Mr. Modi. Both started very humbly and you started amongst Indians. Tell us a little bit about that.
You know, when I finished my regular service in the army in former Yugoslavia before we all faced violence and breakup of the country, I went to London in order to earn some money, in order to buy something for myself and also to educate myself at least a bit to learn a language. And I went there and I had some Serbian and Polish friends over there and they used to work for a Sikh family and they had a hardware shop at Gloucester Road. You were no doubt visiting London at least once or many times but it's the first zone and I was living somewhere in a fourth zone and in order to save some money I was walking from the fourth to the first tube station in the third zone, leaving the train in the last of the second zone and then walking once again...
I went to London in order to earn some money, buy something for myself, and learn a language. I had some Serbian and Polish friends who worked for a Sikh family at a hardware shop on Gloucester Road. I was living in the fourth zone and walking to the first zone to save money, earning two pounds per hour, then 2.5, then three pounds per hour working 10 hours a day. At the beginning I was very happy, then I wanted to earn more because I was spending more. But I have to say what I learned from those people. They were working, although what I was doing was selling something, mopping the floor, doing just ordinary jobs. But those people were working more than me. They were coming before me to the shop, those Indian guys, and one general manager was a Sikh guy. They were really so devoted, better to say than dedicated, and they were so hardworking from Monday to Sunday, no day off, nothing. And always worried about the results, always worried and always calm and very rational people. And what I learned is that they were hiding their emotions because whenever we discussed something, they went emotionally, very emotional, but they were doing their best to keep their calmness and tranquility. And I really learned a lot. And after that I became one of the best students at Belgrade faculty in Serbia and well, after that I started my career.
Indians informed your work ethic. That's what you're saying and you learned.
This is something that I wrote but it's even more than that.
It's even more than that. And you mentioned that many Europeans around you were habituated to underestimating India but when you saw these people work you realized that that is the wrong conclusion to draw.
Not only that, there is something else which I didn't write. You know, I was following closely chess and the way of playing of Vishwanathan Anand. I used to love the way he was playing with Ian Rogers and even with the bigger players like Karpov and Kasparov at that time was wonderful. That kind of a talent of chess imagination you cannot find anywhere else apart from India. And this was something that I liked very much. And people always rely themselves on something what they feel, what they saw in American movies. But what I saw at that time, it was eagerness, it was an eye of a tiger. Because I met Indian people that were cravingly trying to fulfill their dreams and they were investing what they had. It was their humbleness and their hard work and their dedication. Without that, doesn't matter how talented you are, you cannot achieve a lot. And this is something which I believe that I at least partly learned from Indian people.
And that's why you've written that India is not waiting for the future as many people say but helping define it. Now you met Prime Minister Modi. He's also of course put on X your article and he appreciated the sentiments there. He was mentioning that even during our today's meeting that he read your article and yeah he's very good about that. He knows these details. Now I want to ask you, in your view, has Narendra Modi done what has he done differently to turn India into a decisive global voice?
I can define it with three items. Number one, and don't underestimate that. People always want to underestimate it, to even diminish it from time to time because it's about someone else. He is number one very charismatic and hardworking leader. He is the leader that is well known all over the world in every single country in the world. India became visible because of him. He is overwhelmingly present and dominant in all different, as I already said, parts of the world. That's number one. Number two, he insisted and he defined a foreign policy of India, of a country or subcontinent, name it you want, in a way you want, as independent and sovereign, strategic. Yes. In creating and making its own decisions. It means when you speak to Narendra Modi, you speak to him and to Indian people and to Indian state without being influenced from some other powers, from some other mighty centers or whatever. And number three, he successfully caught what some people might say because both our countries were missing some industrial revolutions in the past. He was catching up and not only that, he contributed to India's big progress in not only overall economy but in specific areas like IT sector, digitized economy, AI industry. And that brought him to the stage where he was able to discuss all the other issues and to build India as military power at one hand, as attack power on the other hand. And it's something that he deserves to be praised for.
So I want to ask you this because we speak often of strategic autonomy, the country that is, and as a European leader navigating intense geopolitical pressure yourself because you've adopted the same policy, do you see merit in that doctrine?
It's, you know what I saw not only in Narendra Modi's political behavior but what I saw in his eyes. I met him in 2017 in Gujarat, Ahmedabad. I was visiting there, it was a very special conference, visited Gandhi's place and everything else. And even at that time I saw how he was committed to his country. You see it from time to time in the eyes of a leader. And he takes care of everything. He's very committed to details. He is a control freak guy in the most positive sense because he cares. He cares about people. He cares about country. He cares. That's the best definition. And speaking about strategic autonomy and not being loved with your principled approach by many big powers, but it gives you one thing that all the others don't have. It's respect you get from all of them. You see, America was saying something against this type of politics here in India. But after a month, Trump was attempting to get the arrangement with Narendra Modi as much as India wanted to get it or even more creatively. It's the same with Russians, is the same at the end with Europeans. And we let's say have the same attitude towards the war in Ukraine, India and Serbia, like someone was doing copy paste.
Fair. Yes. But President Vučić, I have to ask you this question. There's a price to pay. India paid a big price. So I'm asking you that question because you have faced economic pressure, political isolation and attempts to weaken you. Here in our country also many people believe, specifically the government, the narrative that comes from government is that strategic autonomy is leading to various players on the international stage trying to weaken India. You've used the word toolkit. There are lots of similarities. Talk a little bit about that.
You see at the end what I wanted to say but you were too emotional and fortunately you have no time for my thoughts. You see at the end Narendra Modi opened all the doors, all the gates for himself and for India. I'm not isolated at all. I speak to everybody in the world and everybody wants to speak to Serbia. It was not a case two, three, four years ago. They were even helpful to color revolution in my country but they failed. Whether there would be always different type of attempts to make India's government less strong. Let me define it this way. No doubt. No doubt. Because there are tens of players all over the world that would like to have weaker contender, weaker competitor coming from India, not a strong one. Why they would need a stronger competitor if they can win easily? Speaking about economic market, speaking about political space or whatever. And that's why Prime Minister Modi is very much dedicated towards strengthening the military of India, strengthening the political position of India in the world and at the same time thinking and working diligently on economic progress of this big and beautiful country. And it has to be combined. It has to be combined at the end. All gates, all doors are opened. You see, he signed very recently a big free trade agreement with European Union. He made an arrangement with Americans. At the same time, he did not expel Russians and he did not spoil his relationship with Russia. You're very cautious, very prudent with your cooperation with China, but always keeping calm and tranquil and stable and everything else. This is a great politics.
So let me ask you, do countries that refuse to choose sides now face a sort of organized pressure?
Yeah, and that will always be the case. But I believe that the strength of global south which is mainly led by Narendra Modi and India is becoming bigger and bigger. We are not afraid to say openly our political stances, to advocate our political position and to act in accordance with international public law, observing UN charter, UN resolutions, which is not the case with many others.
So, so President, beyond symbolism, beyond optics, how can Serbia and India deepen economic and perhaps even strategic ties in practical terms? What are your expectations?
Thank you. Thank you for asking me this question because we have had this morning very strategic but also very concrete talks with Prime Minister Modi and he was in that mood. He wanted to move things forward and to improve relationship with Serbia as well. I believe that there are at least three or four big spheres, big fields in which we can cooperate and collaborate much stronger than we used to. It's military industry cooperation with using transfer of technology. We can bring some companies here in order to build ammo factories and also you have a big need for ammunition and we still even though we are a small country can produce more shells and missiles and even bullets of different calibers than let's say much bigger France. It's in our tradition. We are accustomed to do so from the former Yugoslav times and most of these companies remain in Serbia. This is what we can do. This is a big field for our cooperation in the future. Transfer of technology and even bringing some of our companies to employ people in India and to produce it and to sell it here at Euro market. Number two is tech industry, AI, IT sector. There are already some investors coming from, the name of the company is Embassy of Bangalore. They invested 25 million into Serbia. They created their startup hub and more of Indian companies might come to our country and vice versa. We believe that we created a good foundation, solid foundation, rock solid foundation for the use of artificial intelligence in the future. We built one of the biggest data centers in that part of Europe in the central Serbia and three supercomputers for the size of a country like Serbia. It's big and it is important and we are getting ready to start producing robotic machineries and everything else and this is the sphere where we can also cooperate. Speaking about fertilizer company, we have one of the biggest fertilizer companies in Southeast Europe. We can also export but also we can create a transfer of technology and producing it here if we make an arrangement with our Indian friends. There are a lot of agricultural products that we can import from India and some of them we can export to India. And we have already started doing so and these are the fields where we can cooperate very closely. Speaking about economic cooperation apart from huge and very good level of understanding on all different political issues in different international organizations, institutes and bodies. And this is I believe now today I appointed deputy prime minister as a co-chairperson of our part of intergovernmental committee. He is very enthusiastic, very energetic person and he'll do our best from our side. And I invited Narendra Modi and if I may say to you because I know that Indian people are very emotional people. I said to his excellency Prime Minister Modi, please Mr. Prime Minister come to Serbia. You're going to feel the best hospitality you have ever felt on European soil. This is the only thing I can guarantee you. And people in Serbia, they love Indian people. Not only because of history, the same values we shared and the same position in which we are today. Although you are big, we are relatively small. But Indian people can also benefit from your visit to Serbia and I hope that I'm in power for 14 years. I hope that we'll be able to hosting, I hosted your president three years ago and I hope that we'll be able to hosting your prime minister Narendra Modi and I think that would be another step, another spark in instigating our better cooperation. But as I told you there are many fields in which we can cooperate much better, much faster with a bigger effect in the future and we'll be jubilant to witness it.
Pleasure speaking with you President Vučić. Thank you very much for sharing your time with us.
Viewers, hello and welcome. We're with Serbia's president Aleksandar Vučić, a man whose article in a newspaper has captured the imagination of this country. He talks about how he first encountered Indians working in London and that memory, that experience stayed with him and he after that became one of those European leaders who bet very early on India. Why did he do it? What does he make of India? What does he make of the Indian Serbian relationship? Let's speak to Aleksandar Vučić. Thank you very much, President for speaking to us.
We're delighted to be speaking to you. Your piece, op-ed in a newspaper has sparked imaginations of a lot of Indians. Tell us your first encounter with Indians. You share one thing very in common with Mr. Modi. Both started very humbly and you started amongst Indians. Tell us a little bit about that.
You know when I finished my regular service in the army in former Yugoslavia before we all faced violence and break up of the country. I went to London in order to earn some money, in order to buy something for myself and also to educate myself at least a bit to learn a language. And I went there and I had some Serbian and Polish friends over there and they used to work for a Sikh family and they had a hardware shop at Gloucester Road. You were no doubt visiting London at least once or many times but it's the first zone and I was living somewhere in a fourth zone and in order to save some money I was walking from the fourth to the first tube station in the third zone, leaving the train in the last of the second zone and then walking once again to the first zone to Gloucester Road and wanted to save money and was earning two pounds per hour and then 2.5 then three pounds per hour working 10 hours a day. And at the beginning I was very happy then I wanted to earn more because I was spending more. But I have to say what I learned from those people, they were working. Although what I was doing, selling something, mopping the floor, doing just ordinary jobs, but those people were working more than me. They were coming before me to the shop, those Indian guys and one general manager was a Sikh guy. And they were really so devoted, better to say than dedicated and they were so hardworking from Monday to Sunday, no day off, nothing. And always worried about the results, always worried and always calm and very rational people. And what I learned is that they were hiding their emotions because whenever we discussed something, they went emotionally, very emotional, but they were doing their best to keep their calmness and tranquility. And I really learned a lot. And after that I became one of the best students at Belgrade faculty in Serbia and well after that I started my career.
Indians informed your work ethic. That's what you're saying and you learned.
This is something that I wrote but it's even more than that.
It's even more than that. And that's what and you mentioned that many Europeans around you were habituated to underestimating India but when you saw these people work you realized that that is the wrong conclusion to draw.
Not only that, there is something else which I didn't write. You know, I was following closely chess and the way of playing of Vishwanathan Anand. I used to love the way he was playing with Ian Rogers and even with the bigger players like Karpov and Kasparov at that time was wonderful. That kind of a talent of chess imagination you cannot find anywhere else apart from India. And this was something that I liked very much. And people always rely themselves on something what they feel, what they saw in American movies. But what I saw at that time, it was eagerness, it was an eye of a tiger. Because I met Indian people that were cravingly trying to fulfill their dreams and they were investing what they had. It was their humbleness and their hard work and their dedication. Without that, doesn't matter how talented you are, you cannot achieve a lot. And this is something which I believe that I at least partly learned from Indian people.
And that's why you've written that India is not waiting for the future as many people say but helping define it. Now you met Prime Minister Modi. He's also of course put on X your article and he appreciated the sentiments there. He was mentioning that even during our today's meeting that he read your article and yeah he's very good about that. He knows these details. Now I'm going to ask you, in your view, has Narendra Modi done what has he done differently to turn India into a decisive global voice?
I can define it with three items. Number one, and don't underestimate that. People always want to underestimate it, to even diminish it from time to time because it's about someone else. He is number one very charismatic and hardworking leader. He is the leader that is well known all over the world in every single country in the world. India became visible because of him. He is overwhelmingly present and dominant in all different, as I already said, parts of the world. That's number one. Number two, he insisted and he defined a foreign policy of India, of a country or subcontinent, name it you want, in a way you want, as independent and sovereign, strategic. Yes. In creating and making its own decisions. It means when you speak to Narendra Modi, you speak to him and to Indian people and to Indian state without being influenced from some other powers, from some other mighty centers or whatever. And number three, he successfully caught what some people might say because both our countries were missing some industrial revolutions in the past. He was catching up and not only that, he contributed to India's big progress in not only overall economy but in specific areas like IT sector, digitized economy, AI industry. And that brought him to the stage where he was able to discuss all the other issues and to build India as military power at one hand, as attack power on the other hand. And it's something that he deserves to be praised for.
So I want to ask you this because we speak often of strategic autonomy, the country that is, and as a European leader navigating intense geopolitical pressure yourself because you've adopted the same policy, do you see merit in that doctrine?
It's, you know what I saw not only in Narendra Modi's political behavior but what I saw in his eyes. I met him in 2017 in Gujarat, Ahmedabad. I was visiting there, it was a very special conference, visited Gandhi's place and everything else. And even at that time I saw how he was committed to his country. You see it from time to time in the eyes of a leader. And he takes care of everything. He's very committed to details. He is a control freak guy in the most positive sense because he cares. He cares about people. He cares about country. He cares. That's the best definition. And speaking about strategic autonomy and not being loved with your principled approach by many big powers, but it gives you one thing that all the others don't have. It's respect you get from all of them. You see, America was saying something against this type of politics here in India. But after a month, Trump was attempting to get the arrangement with Narendra Modi as much as India wanted to get it or even more creatively. It's the same with Russians, is the same at the end with Europeans. And we let's say have the same attitude towards the war in Ukraine, India and Serbia, like someone was doing copy paste.
Fair. Yes. But President Vučić, I have to ask you this question. There's a price to pay. India paid a big price. Can you imagine what kind of price we pay? So I'm asking you that question because you have faced economic pressure, political isolation and attempts to weaken you. Here in our country also many people believe, specifically the government, the narrative that comes from government is that strategic autonomy is leading to various players on the international stage trying to weaken India. You've used the word toolkit. There are lots of similarities. Talk a little bit about that.
You see at the end what I wanted to say but you are too emotional and fortunately you have no time for my thoughts. You see at the end Narendra Modi opened all the doors, all the gates for himself and for India. I'm not isolated at all. I speak to everybody in the world and everybody wants to speak to Serbia. It was not a case two, three, four years ago. They were even helpful to color revolution in my country but they failed. Whether there would be always different type of attempts to make India's government less strong. Let me define it this way. No doubt. No doubt. Because there are tens of players all over the world that would like to have weaker contender, weaker competitor coming from India, not a strong one. Why they would need a stronger competitor if they can win easily? Speaking about economic markets, speaking about political space or whatever. And that's why Prime Minister Modi is very much dedicated towards strengthening the military of India, strengthening the political position of India in the world and at the same time thinking and working diligently on economic progress of this big and beautiful country. And it has to be combined. It has to be combined at the end. All gates, all doors are opened. You see, he signed very recently a big free trade agreement with European Union. He made an arrangement with Americans. At the same time, he did not expel Russians and he did not spoil his relationship with Russia. You're very cautious, very prudent with your cooperation with China, but always keeping calm and tranquil and stable and everything else. This is a great politics.
So let me ask you, do countries that refuse to choose sides now face a sort of organized pressure?
