Selakovic in London: A good opportunity to present Serbia's positions and promote the "Open Balkan" initiative

13. Dec 2021.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selakovic stated that today's meeting of the heads of diplomacy of the Western Balkans with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the UK Government Elizabeth Truss, held in London, was an excellent opportunity to exchange views and present the positions of the Republic of Serbia on issues of importance for the stability of our region.

Minister Selakovic said that the meeting in London and the bilateral talks he had were an excellent opportunity to present the positions maintained by Serbia, but also to discuss the best results of the reforms implemented in Serbia, primarily in the field of economy, but also in the field of the rule of law.

The Head of Serbian diplomacy also noted that the progress that Serbia had made in the field of European integration was pointed out, as were the significant results achieved in the field of economy, which were praised.

 

The Minister said that the meeting in London was also an opportunity to promote the idea of ​​regional economic integration "Open Balkan", and that this was the first time that he acted to this end together with the Foreign Ministers of North Macedonia and Albania.

 

"We are convinced that such an approach and focusing great attention to Open Balkan in particular will prove to be a great opportunity for the future of our region", Minister Selakovic underlined.

In addition to the plenary meeting, chaired and hosted by the UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Elizabeth Truss, with whom he had a bilateral meeting, the Serbian Foreign Minister also had meetings in London with envoy of the U.S. Department of State for the Western Balkans and Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Gabriel Escobar, British Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the Western Balkans Stuart Peach, and British PM’s special Trade Envoy Martin Vickers. Furthermore, he met with Wendy Morton, the Minister for Europe and Americas at the UK Foreign Office.

Minister Selakovic said that at the bilateral meeting with the head of British diplomacy, Elizabeth Truss, he also discussed the possibility of her arrival to Serbia, which would be the first visit by a UK Foreign Secretary to Belgrade in almost a decade. 

The Head of Serbian diplomacy also conveyed the open invitation extended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, for a visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and reminded that a British Prime Minister had not visited Belgrade for more than 41 years.