TIRANA, March 6 – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was in Belgrade this Wednesday for a one-day visit to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his counterpart Ana Brnabic.
This was Conte’s first visit to the Western Balkans since he took office in June 1st, 2018 and his visit to Serbia was his first bilateral visit to a European country since the beginning of the year.
The head of the Italian government was ceremoniously welcomed at the Nikola Tesla airport and in front of the Palace of Serbia.
After holding a private meeting with Brnabic and a plenary meeting of the delegations of the two governments, Conte met with Vucic.
Addressing the press after the meeting, Conte confirmed Italy’s support to Serbia on its EU path and to the efforts Vucic has invested in reaching a compromise on Kosovo and Metohija, which, as he said, would be facilitated also by the EU.
According to Italian agency ANSA, Vucic said that Rome’s support is “crucial for the economy of Serbia, the European road of our country, and the solving of the Kosovo issue.”
According to further announcements, during the visit, a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Railway Infrastructure of Serbia company with Italian Railways was signed.
Italy is one of Serbia’s two largest trading partners, with total annual trade exchange exceeding four billion euros – half of this number representing the value of export of Serbia’s goods to Italy.
Conte: “Pristina’s measure is not leading anywhere”
Concerning Italy’s view of Pristina’s current policy, “which is not ready for any concessions, constructiveness towards Belgrade, or towards the international community,” Conte said the unilateral initiatives undertaken by Kosovo lead nowhere.
“Their measure, the process is not leading anywhere. I think that the only way to speed up the path toward the EU is dialogue, all sides must be wise. I stress once again, it was an exceptionally wise decision made by the Serbian government concerning Pristina’s measure.”
He further added he will speak to EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini about the issues further developments and how can Italy, which is Serbia’s ambassador to the EU, “can realistically and concretely represent it.”
The Italian prime minister expressed strong support to the reform process in Serbia and said he was certain they would “contribute to accelerating negotiations with the EU.”
Conte recalled that Serbia and Italy celebrate 140 years of diplomatic relations this year, as well as ten years of strategic partnership, and pointed out to “impressive relations and intensive exchange of goods.”
