Abu Dhabi and Belgrade have moved to broaden their strategic partnership with a new agreement focused on family preservation, child protection and demographic policy, adding a social-policy pillar to a relationship that has been expanding across trade, investment and government modernisation.The agreement was signed by Sana bint Mohammed Suhail, UAE Minister of Family, and Jelena Žarić Kovačević, Serbia’s Minister for Family Care and Demography, during the international expert conference “One Heart More” in Belgrade on 24 and 25 May. Ahmed Almenhali, UAE Ambassador to Serbia, attended the signing alongside officials and representatives from both countries.
The accord is designed to create a structured channel for the exchange of expertise, policy models and best practices in family welfare, child protection, population planning and demographic resilience. It also places work-life balance, fertility-support initiatives, early childhood development, care for children and older people, and family cohesion among the areas targeted for cooperation.
The signing comes as the UAE gives family policy a more visible role in national planning. The Ministry of Family, led by Sana bint Mohammed Suhail, has been positioning family stability, parenting support and child wellbeing as central elements of social development. The agreement with Serbia gives that agenda an international dimension, linking domestic policy priorities with cross-border collaboration on demographic pressures shared by many societies.
Serbia, meanwhile, has placed family care and population policy high on its public agenda, reflecting concerns over ageing, fertility trends and the need for stronger support systems for parents and children. Its Ministry for Family Care and Demography has been tasked with issues linked to family protection, parenthood, demographic policy and quality of life, making it a natural counterpart for cooperation with the UAE ministry.
The agreement also builds on the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed by the UAE and Serbia in September 2022, which created a broader legal and political framework for cooperation across multiple sectors. That partnership has since been reinforced by expanding economic ties, including the UAE–Serbia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed in October 2024, which came into force in June 2025.
While trade and investment have dominated much of the bilateral agenda, the new agreement signals a widening of cooperation into social resilience and human development. Both governments are seeking to address pressures linked to changing family structures, ageing populations, urbanisation, digital disruption and the need for more flexible support systems for working parents.
The framework covers joint programmes, conferences, specialised forums, academic visits and cooperation with international organisations dealing with family and demographic issues. It also includes the use of digital tools, artificial intelligence, robotics and other technologies to support family-related services and policy design.
A key element of the agreement is the focus on child protection. Both sides are expected to exchange expertise on early intervention, safeguarding mechanisms, family-based care and community participation in the wellbeing of children. The inclusion of elderly care and intergenerational solidarity also reflects a broader understanding of family policy that goes beyond parent-child relations to include support across the life cycle.
The UAE has been moving towards more integrated social services, with greater emphasis on family counselling, parenting programmes, child protection frameworks and quality-of-life initiatives. Serbia brings experience from European family and demographic policy debates, including work on population trends, parenthood support and institutional coordination around child welfare.
The agreement avoids binding the two countries to a single policy model. Instead, it establishes a platform for mutual learning, allowing each side to adapt ideas to its own legal, cultural and institutional context. That approach is significant because family policy remains closely tied to national traditions, welfare systems, labour markets and demographic realities.
For the UAE, the accord strengthens its diplomatic profile in an area often treated as domestic policy. It also supports the broader objective of presenting the country as a hub for policy innovation, government modernisation and social development. For Serbia, cooperation with the UAE offers access to policy experimentation in digital government, service delivery and family-focused initiatives.
Bilateral relations between the two countries have grown steadily through high-level visits, investment links and cooperation in food security, renewable energy, technology and government services. The Belgrade signing adds a people-centred layer to that relationship at a time when both governments are seeking to align economic development with social stability.
Topics
UAE