The objective of the conference was to facilitate the exchange of experiences between the Nordic region and the Western Balkans on the models of economic, political and social interconnection and Serbia’s cooperation with the neighbouring countries.

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Prof. Dr Vladimir Marinkovic, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers H.E. Dagfinn Høybråten, State Secretary at the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Miodrag Poledica and the Speaker of Assembly of AP Vojvodina Istvan Pasztor spoke at the conference.

The National Assembly Deputy Speaker said that the Nordic model is an excellent example of how to foster economic, political and social ties inside the region, resulting in economic growth, progress and well-being of the citizens through the free flow of goods, services, people and labour force, and the Nordic’s countries joint ventures on the international scene. Marinkovic said that Serbia and its neighbours are working on the democratization and economic reform to secure prosperity and well-being for their citizens. He concluded that fostering interparliamentary cooperation would improve institutional interconnectivity among the countries in the region and their provinces.

Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers H.E. Dagfinn Høybråten said that Nordic cooperation is grounded in closeness and common historical, cultural and lingual ties based on common values despite the many differences between the Nordic countries. He stressed that by working together the countries can make the region stronger because fostering ties at all levels would benefit the people primarily in the form of social security, low corruption, stronger economies and higher degree of trust in the institutions.

After State Secretary at the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Miodrag Poledica and the Speaker of Assembly of AP Vojvodina Istvan Pasztor addressed the assembly, the participants launched a panel discussion.

The event was followed by a press conference of National Assembly Deputy Speaker Prof. Dr Vladimir Marinkovic, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers H.E. Dagfinn Høybråten and the Norwegian Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Arne Sannes Bjørnstad. Click here to watch the press conference.