At the sitting held on 10 February, the Committee on Development and International Economic Relations discussed the bills on Foreign Trade Transactions, on the cessation of validity of the Foreign Trade Transactions Insurance and Financing Fund Law, on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Romanian Government on economic, scientific and technical cooperation, as well as the Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, the Republic of Serbia and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo on Behalf of Kosovo in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 on the privileges and immunities of the Secretariat of the Central European Free Trade Agreement. The Committee also discussed the invitation to a seminar for Serbian officials from the field of economic and commercial management under the patronage of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China held in China from 4 to 17 March 2009.

Representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development outlined the bills for the Committee members on the behalf of the submitters. The Bill on Foreign Trade Transactions harmonises domestic legislation with the regulations of the World Trade Organisation and European Union, and the Bill on the cessation of validity of the Foreign Trade Transactions Insurance and Financing Fund Law increases the efficiency of export and transfers the responsibilities of this body onto the Export Credit and Insurance Agency. The Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Romanian Government on economic, scientific and technical cooperation is a bilateral agreement which reinforces the cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Romania as a European Union member, while the Bill on the Confirmation of the Agreement between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, the Republic of Serbia and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo on Behalf of Kosovo in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 on the privileges and immunities of the Secretariat of the Central European Free Trade Agreement is a typical technical agreement regulating the rights and obligations of the Secretariat employees and the host country i.e. the Kingdom of Belgium.

After a short discussion the Committee members accepted all the bills in principle by a majority of votes.

The Committee members went on to decide to take part in the economic and commercial management seminar under the patronage of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, held in China from 4 to 17 March 2009. It was agreed that the Committee’s delegation comprise five members.

The sitting was chaired by the Committee Chairman, Milos Jevtic.