The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Marko Čadež, stated today in Berlin, after a meeting at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the Western Balkans remains a priority for the new German government and that the region can count on german support in regional and European integration.
Susan Schutz, Director of the Department for Bilateral Relations with the Western Balkans, Turkey, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Norway at the German Foreign Ministry, with whom Čadež discussed the implementation of the Open Balkan Initiative within the Berlin Process as an umbrella platform, stressed the importance of the Western Balkans for Germany. This, as she said, was confirmed by Analena Berbok, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose plan is to visit Serbia and the Western Balkans.
“Strengthening the regional cooperation, which is the starting point and goal of the Berlin Process, faster establishment of a common market without barriers to the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the region, but also removal of barriers to doing business with the EU in order to reduce the costs of companies, is what business people from of all Western Balkan economies want. At the same time, it is in the interest of German companies operating in the Western Balkans, ” Čadež pointed out.
In a conversation with Schutz, Čadež presented the progress in the implementation of the Open Balkan Initiative, which, as he explained, presents a proof of our determination and readiness to accelerate integration within the region and with the EU, and our way to operationally, through cooperation with Western Balkan economies, encourage further construction of the regional market, initiated through Berlin Process as an umbrella platform.
“In order for the economy to enjoy concrete benefits as soon as possible, it is important that the principles and agreements reached within the Berlin Process, in which a lot of time and energy was invested, are now implemented on the ground by removing barriers at border crossings, harmonizing documentation and experts without bureaucratic procedures. In that sense, the Open Balkans is not a parallel process, but a part of the Berlin process”, Čadež emphasized.
Čadež expressed confidence that the acceleration of economic integration through the implementation of the Open Balkan Initiative will contribute to faster resolution of open Western Balkan issues, especially between Belgrade and Priština, which will bring greater political stability to the region, as a key precondition for further economic growth, economic cooperation, increased attractiveness of the region for foreign companies and the inclusion of our companies in European supply chains.
Source: pks.rs