(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak will receive a Serbian passport after accepting an offer from President Aleksandar Vucic just days ahead of parliamentary elections in the Balkan nation. 

“I’m a Serb who lives in America and that’s how I wanna be,” Wozniak, 73, told reporters alongside Vucic after their meeting in Belgrade. 

The Serbian leader, who is in the midst of campaigning ahead of Dec. 17 elections to help his political party remain in power, praised Wozniak and referred to him as a “computer genius who is now a Serb.” 

Wozniak, who was briefly hospitalized last month after suffering a minor stroke, said he and his wife Janet, who will also receive the Serbian citizenship, continue to travel extensively and are particularly interested in eastern Europe and Serbia.

Wozniak also said he would help promote events in Serbia that are part of EXPO 2027, a major international exhibition. Serbian passport holders can travel visa-free to the European Union nations, as well as to Russia and China, among other destinations. 

 “I wanna be a part of that, I want to help promote Serbia and Serbian interests for the rest of my life,” he said.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.