Today, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Maja Gojkovic had a meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia Dejan Zidan, in official visit to the Republic of Serbia, after which they signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the National Assembly of Slovenia.
Gojkovic said that Serbia and Slovenia’s intensive dialogue and meetings, parliamentary cooperation and intergovernmental sessions foster the overall development of relations which have now reached the highest point since establishment. Gojkovic went on to say that the visit to Serbia being one of the Slovenian Parliament Speaker’s first bilateral activities after election goes to prove this exceptional level of cooperation.
Gojkovic thanked Slovenia for its honest and friendly support of Serbia’s European integration process which is the country’s top foreign policy priority, adding that the dynamics of the talks should pick up speed through the opening of new chapters since Serbia is ready for it. The two heads of parliament said that it is vital to make sure EU’s criteria toward the Western Balkans remain clear in the future.
The Speaker of the National Assembly of Slovenia stressed that Serbia belongs in the European Union and it will always have a true friend in Slovenia. Zidan said that the European Union is a big market, with no customs taxes or limitations, an area that provides safety and security to its member states, and reaffirmed that Slovenia will continue to support Serbia on the path to full membership.
Gojkovic and Zidan stressed that parliamentary cooperation which is an important segment of the two countries’ relations, will be further advanced by today’s signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation which opens up more room for cooperation in Serbia’s European integration process, cooperation at the level of working bodies such as the committees in charge of foreign affairs, European integration, agriculture, finance, culture, education, the environment and tourism, as well as between parliamentary friendship groups.
Gojkovic said that the Memorandum of Cooperation also offers new opportunities to advance multilateral cooperation and invited a delegation of the National Assembly of Slovenia to take part in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean in Belgrade in February of next year, as well as its highest representatives to the 141st session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, also in Belgrade, in October.
Gojkovic and Zidan also spoke about strengthening economic cooperation, with the Speaker of the National Assembly of Slovenia opining that the two countries successful economic cooperation going up by 7% in a year and the fact that the number of Serbian investments into Slovenia are also on the rise all point to the two countries’ relations following a good trend.
Gojkovic said that economic cooperation with Slovenia is extremely significant for Serbia because Slovenia is one of the country’s most important trade and economic partners and investors, adding that more than 1000 Slovenian companies are doing business in Serbia.
Gojkovic and Zidan went on to highlight the importance of culture for the advancement of overall relations and fostering understanding between the two nations, and Zidan thanked Serbia for honouring the 100th anniversary of the death of the greatest Slovene writer Ivan Cankar by opening the 5th Festival of Slovenian Film in Belgrade.
Gojkovic said that the Serbs living in Slovenia and Slovenes living in Serbia are one more bridge of cooperation between the two states.
