The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Maja Gojkovic met today with the President of the Republic of Palau Tommy Remengesau, Jr., currently in visit to Serbia.
Gojkovic said that establishing intensive bilateral relations and advancing cooperation in all areas of common interest is very important for Serbia. Gojkovic said that the President’s visit is a big boost for the improvement of relations between the two countries which should be utilized despite their geographical distance.
Gojkovic thanked the President of the Republic of Palau for the understanding his country has shown for Serbia’s position on Kosovo-Metohija, which is one of the most important issues for Serbia, and for Palau’s decision to reconsider its earlier decision to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija.
Gojkovic informed the President of the Republic of Palau about the situation in Kosovo, sharing her concern over the decision of the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Pristina to establish the so-called Kosovo Army which is a brutal violation of UN SC Resolution 1244 and directly contradicts all relevant regional agreements. Gojkovic said that Pristina’s illegal 100% customs tax imposed on goods from central Serbia is still in force, putting the rights and lives of the people in Kosovo-Metohija in jeopardy.
Gojkovic said that, to help foster the friendship between the two countries, it would be a good idea to establish interparliamentary cooperation and sign a cooperation agreement and to that end invited the heads of the two houses of Palau’s parliament to visit Serbia.
Gojkovic went on to highlight the importance of establishing cooperation at the level of parliamentary working bodies in charge of foreign affairs, agriculture, education and environmental protection.
Gojkovic said that the there is also room to improve parliamentary cooperation at the multilateral level stating that, after 56 years, Belgrade will be hosting the 141st IPU Assembly in October 2019, and expects a delegation of Palau will attend.
Gojkovic said that the two countries could also cooperate on the development of parliamentary oversight mechanisms of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals especially since the National Assembly is one of the parliaments with results deemed good enough to serve as an example for other parliaments and in view of the Republic of Palau’s commitment to environmental protection.
Thanking the Speaker for the hospitality, the President of the Republic of Palau said he was most pleased by the establishment of relations between Serbia and Palau, emphasizing his country’s wish to cooperate with Serbia since the two countries share the same values and tenets.
Remengesau thanked the Speaker for the invitation to the heads of the two houses of Palau’s parliament to visit Serbia and help foster the friendship between the two countries. The President of the Republic of Palau said that establishing cooperation between the two parliaments’ working bodies would be an excellent opportunity to further bilateral relations and that it would be a good idea if a delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia were to visit Palau.
Since 2019 will be a year of innovations and education in Palau, Remengesau said he hoped for a development of cooperation in these areas, as well as environmental protection and sports.
