Open Balkan Summit is being held today (September 2) in Serbia. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he believed the economic future of its member states Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania -depended on the success of the project, which he noted should also strengthen peace and stability in the region at opening of summit in Belgrade.
“For us, this is extremely important because it seems to me that, since the moment we established this initiative, the attention and energy focusing on the success of the project itself has never been greater. It seems to me that the extent to which we will be able to ensure a good economic future of our countries and, at the same time, secure peace and stability in the region, depends on the success of this project,” Vucic said.
He urged all political factors and the governments and opposition parties in all three countries to understand the significance of the project and help to do something great for the future.
“Once we do this, the results of the initiative will be completely clear to everyone,” he noted.
The opening ceremony of the summit, held at the Palace of Serbia, was also attended by the PMs of Northern Macedonia and Albania, Dimitar Kovacevski and Edi Rama, as well as by Serbian PM Ana Brnabic, Montenegrin PM Dritan Abazovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina Council of Ministers Chairman Zoran Tegeltija, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu.
A meeting of Open Balkan leaders and representatives of institutions tasked with attracting investment as part of the initiative was scheduled to begin at 11 am.
From 12 pm to 1 pm, the leaders will be meeting with representatives of the initiative’s crisis groups for food and energy supplies.
The signing of bilateral documents and a joint press conference are scheduled for 1 pm.
The Serbian Ministry of Agriculture has announced earlier the Open Balkan leaders would also sign an agreement to regulate cooperation on food security.
-Tanjug