Greeting the participants, National Assembly Speaker MA Nebojsa Stefanovic said that it was important for the countries of the region to establish a level of cooperation like the one among the Nordic countries for the benefit of all the citizens of the region. We need to forget about the past like the Nordic countries which had once been in conflict did and now enjoy such a level of regional cooperation that they can serve as a model for other countries. Speaker Stefanovic underlined respecting diversity and the existence of political will for cooperation as something the countries of the region should strive for.
The Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, Adriano Martins said that the European Union countries support the process of European integration of the Western Balkan countries, adding that the parliaments play a crucial role in it. He reminded how important it is to establish good regional cooperation which should, like the Nordic model, be based on mutual respect.
The Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Peter Burkhard, commended the Igman Initiative project adding that regional cooperation is an important mechanism for resolving past conflicts in the region of South-East Europe.
Swedish Ambassador to Serbia Bertil Christer Asp offered the Nordic countries’ expert assistance in the application of a similar regional cooperation model in the Western Balkans.
Roksanda Nincic, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke of the importance of a good-neighbourly cooperation policy, mentioning the importance Croatia’s accession to the European Union has for the region.
Aleksandar Popov, co-president of the Igman Initiative for Serbia, presented the Igman Initiative project of transferring the experience of the Nordic Council in the improvement of interparliamentary cooperation to the Dayton Accords countries. Popov stressed that a great many NGOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro are involved in the work of the Igman Initiative. He deemed the project a true example of joint action between the civil and public sector based on the principles of anti-war cooperation between the four countries. The Nordic model was chosen since Nordic countries, just like the Dayton Accords countries, share a history and tradition without a big language barrier.
Branko Lukovac, co-president of the Igman Initiative for Montenegro, opined that the period of conflict is in the past as far the Dayton Accords countries are concerned and that the upcoming period is expected to be marked by intense regional cooperation and a phase of integration. Following the Nordic example, said Lukovac, the cooperation should be grounded on the mutual interests of the countries and their citizens.
The participants were addressed by National Assembly Deputy Speakers Vesna Kovac and Gordana Comic, Montenegrin Assembly Deputy Speaker Suljo Mustafic and the representative of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lazar Prodanovic. They pointed out the importance of economic cooperation and the need to boost regional cooperation in the spheres of environmental protection, energy, transport and scientific research.
In the conclusion, the co-president of the Igman Initiative for Serbia, Aleksandar Popov, said that the Dayton Accords countries should direct their cooperation to the key areas identified at today’s meeting, underlining the supervision of the implementation of environmental legislation. Also, the parliament speakers of the Dayton Accords countries are supposed to meet in the near future.