A total of four million protective face masks have arrived in coronavirus-ravaged Italy from Serbia, the foreign ministry tweeted Monday, thanking the European Union candidate for its "solidarity and friendship".
"We won't forget such gestures," read the tweet.
"Solidarity and friendship are fundamental values for Europe, which must broaden its horizons and act in a concrete way towards other member states," the tweet said.
The delivery of face masks from Serbia, follows a visit in February by Di Maio when he met the country's president Aleksandar Vucic, its premier Ana Brnabic and its foreign minister Ivica Dacic.
"Like other Balkan countries, Serbia has been seeking to join the EU for some time. They are nations that we have always been close to as my February visit shows," Di Maio wrote in a Facebook post.
"Italy values multilateralism and friendship with other countries and the help they are giving us," the post added.
Since Italy's dramatic Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak began in January, the foreign ministry has worked intensively to source protective gear, testing kits and equipment from around the world to help frontline hospital staff.
