September 2, 2022

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic has presided the Summit within the framework of the initiative Open Balkan, together with the Prime Ministers of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama and the Republic of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski.

Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazovic, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zoran Tegeltija, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye Mevlut Cavusoglu have also participated.

Opening the Summit, the Presidеnt Vucic said that ever since the foundation of this project there hasn’t been such attention and energy aimed at its success, and that securing the good economic future for the participant countries is dependent on the success of the Open Balkan, so is the strengthening of peace and stability in the region.

„We hope that the initiative Open Balkan will additionally contribute to the economic strengthening and connectivity, and also provide the possibility, which is very important for us, to speak in our region with a single voice when it comes to key issues of interest for all our countries and for the region as a whole. The progress so far was not minor, but I would be lying if I said we were always happy with the pace of the progress. It seems to me that we could always do things faster, stronger and better.

Setting up the green corridor of the Open Balkan for transport of the food products lead to a 17% increase of trade in this sector. Also, opening the dedicated lanes at border crossings has shortened the waiting from a couple of hours to 10-15 minutes, which immeasurably facilitates the operation of companies from Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, the President Vucic said, stressing out that the documents signed during the day are a result of the dedication, work and determination of all the members of Open Balkan for their future cooperation to reach even higher level.

According to the words of President Vucic, among the signed documents are the Agreement on Mechanisms for Providing the Uninterrupted Supply of Basic Foodstuffs within the region of the Open Balkan, that envisages the uninterrupted trade of certain foodstuffs within the initiative even if some member country bans the export of these foodstuffs.

“The Operational plan in the field of civil protection, is a continuation of the previous agreement on cooperation in civilian and emergency situations from July 2021” said President Vucic, pointing out that the particularly wise idea by the Albanian Prime minister Edi Rama has resulted in the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Cinematography and Audio Visual Activities, envisaging the foundation of a joint co-production fund “Open Balkan” for filmmakers.

Also, President Vucic evaluated that issuing of the first working permits and registration numbers will be a milestone that will guide the development of the economies of the three countries and added that the foundation of a working group for prevention of crises is especially important in the context of a very tough winter ahead.

President Vucic looked back on the international wine fair Wine Vision, organized within the framework of the initiative Open Balkan, stressing out that the three countries showed that they are capable of organizing such an important and very difficult exhibition at the highest world level, bringing most of its wineries, most famous global wineries and promoting their capitals and their countries.

President Vucic has especially thanked the Prime Minister of Montenegro, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the chiefs of diplomacies of Hungary and Turkiye, for attending the Summit in Belgrade.    “You are our guests, we are so greatly linked and so necessary to each other, which the frequency of our encounters demonstrates. Regardless of the fact that some aren’t formally members of the Open Balkan, I believe that we will be able to further develop the possible cooperation”, added the President Vucic, saying that the relations of the countries within the initiative are at the historic maximum.

After the addresses by the participants and the guests of the Summit, President Vucic sent a message that for all the member countries of the Open Balkan peace and stability are crucial, regardless of the fact that they do not see eye to eye on all of the political issues. He has also pointed out that all the participating countries at the Summit, are on the European path and are dedicated to it. Therefore, he has asked the European partners to show respect and more understanding for the Balkan region and has thanked the representatives of the EU on respecting the decision of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia to create a project such as Open Balkan.

Source: Photo www.predsednik.rs