The meeting was opened by National Assembly Speaker Dr Nebojsa Stefanovic who said that the meeting between the four countries’ foreign affairs committees is the cornerstone of establishing better relations in the region. The National Assembly Speaker mentioned the recently passed National Anti-Corruption Strategy, adding that the entire society should join the anti-corruption struggle. The National Assembly’s role in the process is to raise the citizens’ awareness on the importance of the fight against corruption and supervising the work of the executive.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vucic said that the countries of the region should make a concentrated effort in the fight against corruption in the interest of all the countries. He highlighted how important it is for the police, prosecution, courts and intelligence services to cooperate and exchange experiences. The Anti-Corruption Strategy sets high standards, said Vucic, hoping that Serbia would manage to achieve them.
Minister of Justice and Public Administration Nikola Selakovic spoke of the importance of the recently adopted anti-corruption and judiciary reform strategies, adding that action plans for their implementation have also been passed. He briefed the participants on the areas covered by the strategies and the situation in the Serbian judiciary. Selakovic said he hoped that, by the end of the year, the Assembly would also pass the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers.
The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Milos Aligrudic said that establishing a standing cooperation among the four states strengthens the stability in the region and contributes to a speedier resolution of the open issues.
The participants exchanged opinions and experiences in the fight against corruption in their respective countries, also speaking of the parliaments’ role in the process, ways to suppress corruption at the local level, importance of prevention and existence of political will.
After a break, the participants discussed the position of women in parliaments. Rapporteurs from the Serbian, Croatian, BiH and Montenegrin parliaments spoke on the issue. They exchanged opinions on the importance of women’s participation in politics and high state functions, representation of women in the parliaments and the gender equality situation. Marija Obradovic, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and coordinator of the National Assembly’s Women’s Parliamentary Network, had a presentation on women in leading positions in the state structures of the Republic of Serbia.
At the end of the meeting the participants adopted Conclusions.
They agreed to hold the next meeting in late September in Montenegro.

The first meeting of the four regional countries’ foreign affairs committees was held in Zagreb on 18 and 19 October 2012, and the second in Sarajevo on 15 March 2013.