02.09.2022.

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, chaired the Summit as part of the Open Balkans initiative together with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovačevski. Also present at the summit were the Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zoran Tegeltija, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Sijarto and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Opening the Leaders’ Summit within the Open Balkans initiative, President Vučić said that never before had more attention and energy been focused on the success of this project since its foundation, and that the success of the Open Balkans also depended on how well the member countries would manage to ensure a good economic future for their countries, as well as consolidation of peace and stability in the region.

“We hope that the Open Balkans initiative will further contribute to economic strengthening and connection, but also provide an opportunity, which is of great importance for us, to speak in the region with one voice when it comes to key issues of interest to all our countries and for the region as a whole. The progress so far is not small, but I would be lying if I said that we are always satisfied with the pace of progress. It seems to me that we can always do faster and stronger and better. By establishing the Green corridor of the Open Balkans for the transport of food products, it led to a 17 percent increase in trade in this sector. Also, the opening of dedicated lanes at border crossings shortened the waiting time from several hours to 10 to 15 minutes, which immeasurably facilitates business for companies from Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia,” President Vučić emphasized, stressing that documents were signed during the day, as a result of commitment and work and an expression of the determination of all members of the Open Balkans to reach an even higher level of cooperation in the future.

According to President Vučić, among the signed documents is the Agreement on Mechanisms for Ensuring the Unhindered Supply of Basic Foodstuffs within the Open Balkan Region, which foresees the unhindered trade of certain foodstuffs within the initiative and if one of the member countries decides to ban the export of those foodstuffs.

“The operational plan in the field of civil protection is a continuation of the previous agreement on cooperation in civil and emergency situations from July 2021,” said the President, pointing out that a particularly wise idea of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of cinematography and audio-visual activities that will establish a joint co-production fund “Open Balkans” for film professionals.

Also, President Vučić assessed that the issuance of the first work permits and registration numbers would be a turning point that would direct the economic development of our three countries and added that the establishment of a working group for crisis prevention before the coming severe winter was particularly important.

President Vučić also referred to the international wine fair Wine Vision, organized as part of the Open Balkans initiative, emphasizing that the three member countries have shown that they can organize such an important and extremely difficult event at the highest world level, bringing most of their wineries, the world’s most famous wineries and promoting capital cities and their countries.

President Vučić especially thanked the Prime Minister of Montenegro, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the heads of diplomacy of Hungary and Turkey, for coming to Belgrade for the Summit.

“You are not our guests, we are so connected and need each other, and this is shown by the frequency of our meetings. I believe that, regardless of the fact that some are not formally part of the Open Balkans and that some will not be, we will be able to develop further possible cooperation”, said President Vučić, adding that the relations between the countries within the initiative are at a historic high.

After the address of the participants and guests at the Summit, President Vučić said that for all countries participating in the “Open Balkans” initiative, peace and stability are of key importance, regardless of the fact that they do not have the same opinions on all political events and issues. He also pointed out that all the countries participating in the Summit are on the European path and are committed to it. That is why he asked the European partners to show respect and more understanding towards the Balkan region and thanked the EU representatives for respecting the decision of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia to create a project like the Open Balkans.

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