At the beginning of the meeting, the Head of the PFG with Germany Dr Aleksandra Tomic pointed out that the size of 108-member Parliamentary Friendship Group speaks volumes about the MPs’ interest in continuing and intensifying both parliamentary and overall bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Germany. She also highlighted the importance of the joint participation of parliamentary delegations in international forums.

She said that the parliamentarians’ cooperation with members of the Bundestag has so far been intense, which is a good indicator of the importance of talking about topics they are in agreement, and more importantly, also about topics where views and positions on certain issues differ.

She also used the opportunity to talk about the upcoming 10th Summit of the Berlin Process, to be held in Tirana on 13 October of this year. The topic of the summit is strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the process, that is, the control role of the Berlin Process parliaments. Tomic said that, at the upcoming Summit, the National Assembly will be represented by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Elvira Kovacs.

"Germany is already our largest foreign trade partner, but there are still huge potentials in that area that we would like to use. For Serbia, the partnership with Germany is extremely important and we will continue to strengthen it," said Dr Tomic. She added that last year’s volume of trade reached over 8 billion euros and that German companies employ around 84,000 people, with a tendency of further growth. She also spoke of Germany’s significant donations amounting to over two billion euros.

PFG Head Tomic also mentioned the excellent economic cooperation, reflected in the improved cooperation in the automotive industry, energy, pharmacy, education, culture, economy, as well as military and security cooperation.

Tomic went on to speak about the problems faced by the Serbian people in Kosovo-Metohija, saying that the Serbian leadership is committed to dialogue and the normalisation of relations and that the Serbian side has fulfilled all the provisions of the Brussels Agreement, while the Pristina authorities have not implemented the obligation concerning the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities.

PFG Head Dr Tomic reminded that the President of Serbia had on several occasions reported to the MPs in the National Assembly about the negotiation process between Belgrade and Pristina, the position and life of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija. She said that though a number of topics have been open for discussion in the European integration process, the reform processes Serbia has implemented so far should also be taken into account. Tomic pointed out that regional cooperation, preservation of peace and stability and further strengthening of the Open Balkans initiative, which in no way contradicts the Berlin process, are extremely important for Serbia.

Aleksandra Tomic stressed that Serbia's chief foreign policy goal is full EU membership, thanking Germany for its support on that path.

Ambassador Anke Konrad thanked the MPs for the invitation, expressing hope that they would soon have the opportunity to exchange opinions with their German colleagues and improve cooperation both at the parliamentary level and in international organisations.

She stressed that Germany supports Serbia's European path, adding that the relations between Belgrade and Pristina must be normalised, because this is very important for both sides.

Speaking about German investments, she pointed out that they are present on the entire territory of Serbia and that communication is very important not only with the leaders in the capital, but with the leaders of local self-governments and other cities throughout Serbia as well.

Members of the PFG with Germany National Assembly Deputy Snezana Paunovic, Djordje Todorovic, Dragan Stojanovic, Dragan Jovanovic, Milovan Drecun, Miodrag Gavrilovic, Aleksandar Markovic and Natasa Tasic Knezevic also took part in the conversation with the German Ambassador in Serbia and spoke about cooperation as a mechanism for better understanding the situation in Kosovo-Metohija and the preservation of the Serbian cultural heritage there, the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, the Serbian diaspora in Germany, the German national minority in Serbia, intensification of student exchange and cooperation in the field of education and culture, cooperation in the field of medicine, German support in the realisation of various development projects in Serbia, as well as cooperation during the energy crisis and other. They also pointed out the fact that young people today, thanks to the increasingly favourable climate, stay in Serbia and return to Serbia. German companies, recognised as the largest foreign investors in our country, have assessed that Serbia is a place where young people can work, produce and export our products.

The officials agreed that, a number of topics and issues for future cooperation were opened at this meeting between the members of the PFG with Germany and representatives of the German Embassy in Serbia. PFG Head Tomic expressed her belief that Germany will do everything to make sure international law triumphs, for the sake of peace and stability in the region, which will enable its further economic progress.

The officials also concluded that progress in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is of key importance for preserving stability in our region, and the members of the PFG with Germany emphasised that Serbia is taking all the steps needed to stabilise the situation and avoid further escalation in Kosovo-Metohija.