President Boris Tadic urged all Serbian ambassadors to do their part to enlarge economic cooperation with countries worldwide, as 2012 would be a year of economic hardship.

Stressing that Serbia's priorities in 2012 would remain unchanged, Tadic said at the Fifth Ambassadorial Conference in Belgrade that the goal was for Serbia to gain the status of candidate member of the European Union, and to have a date set for broaching negotiations with a view to that aim by the end of the year, if possible.

"Eternal interests are the governing imperative of foreign policy, and Serbia should position itself in the international environment and in that context review the possibilities and reality of achieving its foreignpolicy, economic and security interests," Tadic said at the Palace of Serbia.

The president pointed out that in a grave economic crisis, inevitably spilling over to Serbia from Europe, Belgrade must continue its journey into the EU, at the same time "investing a very great effort" in finding a sustainable solution for Kosovo.