Relationship dossier
Serbia
Zambia
Relationship assessment
Serbia–Zambia ties include diplomatic engagement over Kosovo’s status
Serbia toward Zambia
+10Serbia has pursued diplomatic support for its position on Kosovo, including engagement with countries that recognized Kosovo. Zambia later withdrew its recognition, aligning with Serbia’s position on this issue.
Zambia toward Serbia
+10Zambia recognized Kosovo in 2010 and later withdrew that recognition, a policy change consistent with Serbia’s position on Kosovo’s status.
Overall relationship
+10The relationship includes a notable diplomatic issue concerning Kosovo: Zambia’s initial recognition and subsequent withdrawal of recognition intersected directly with Serbia’s central foreign-policy position. The breadth of cooperation on other bilateral matters is unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Serbia and Zambia have engaged over Kosovo’s status: Zambia recognized Kosovo in 2010 and later withdrew that recognition, a change consistent with Serbia’s position. This issue gives the relationship a concrete point of diplomatic engagement, although the scope of wider bilateral cooperation is unclear.
Areas of tension
- Zambia’s recognition of Kosovo, which opposed Serbia’s position on Kosovo’s status.
Key developments
Zambia recognized Kosovo.
Zambia withdrew its recognition of Kosovo.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation beyond Kosovo are unclear.
- The timing and circumstances of Zambia’s withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo are uncertain.