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Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić says relations between Serbia and the United States have undergone a dramatic transformation under President Donald Trump , a shift he says has changed public perceptions in a country where memories of the 1999 NATO bombing campaign remain deeply rooted.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Vučić praised Trump's approach to the Balkans , arguing that the administration's focus on economic cooperation rather than political pressure resonated with many Serbs. "President Trump and his team so far were working very diligently and dedicatedly on the Western Balkans," Vučić said, adding that many Serbs view his administration very differently from previous U.S. governments.
"If you ask people in Serbia just to make a comparison between Clinton and Trump's administration, or Democrats to Republicans , you wouldn't believe it," Vučić said. "It would be 90 to 10 or 95 to 5."
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Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 21, 2023. (Richard Drew/AP Photo)
The comparison is particularly striking in Serbia, where many still associate the United States with NATO's 1999 bombing campaign during the Kosovo conflict, launched to stop Serbian forces' crackdown on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and which remains one of the most consequential events in modern Serbian history.
Vučić said he recently extended an invitation to Trump to visit Serbia and predicted the American president would receive an enthusiastic welcome.
"I hope that we'll be able to host him," Vučić said. "More people will be ready to greet him and wait for him than he might even expect…I dare to say even more than hundreds of thousands of people."
The Serbian president said the improving relationship between Washington and Belgrade is increasingly centered on economics, investment and technological cooperation, and mutual conservative values.
According to Vučić, Serbia and the United States are preparing to launch a strategic dialogue that will focus on energy, infrastructure, artificial intelligence , defense cooperation and investment opportunities. Among the projects under discussion are energy infrastructure , liquefied natural gas cooperation, data centers and advanced computing technologies.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo's Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti at the White House in Washington, U.S., Sep. 4, 2020. (Leah Millis/Reuters)
The growing relationship comes as Serbia seeks to position itself as a regional economic hub while continuing its long-standing ambition of joining the European Union .
Vučić pointed to preparations for Expo 2027 in Belgrade with nearly 150 participating countries, as evidence of Serbia's growing international profile and economic ambitions.
Vučić, who has served as Serbia's dominant political figure since becoming prime minister in 2014 and president in 2017, pointed to the country's economic growth as evidence of its transformation. "Our GDP was 32 billion (euros) when I became the prime minister," Vučić said. "This year it's going to be over 100 billion euros., which is $120 billion."
President Donald Trump and the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić ( Credit: Al Drago for The Washington Post via Getty Images ; Mehmet Ali Ozcan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Vučić's relationship with Trump dates back to the president's first term, when the White House brokered a series of economic normalization agreements between Serbia and Kosovo. Rather than focusing first on the politically explosive question of Kosovo's status, the Trump administration emphasized infrastructure projects, transportation links and investment aimed at improving ties between the two sides.
In September 2020, Vučić and then-Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti signed U.S.-brokered economic agreements at the White House that included commitments to expand rail and highway connections and promote investment. Trump described the deal as a breakthrough achieved by focusing on "job creation and economic growth" rather than longstanding political disputes.
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Serbian poster supporting Donald Trump near a portrait of the Serbian former Prime Minister and now president, Aleksandar Vučić in Mitrovica, Kosovo. (Getty Images)
Asked whether he would consider recognizing Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognized by the United States under President George W. Bush and most European countries, if doing so unlocked Serbia's economic future and accelerated its path toward membership in the European Union, Vučić pushed back on the premise, arguing that economic cooperation and i…
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