Economic cooperation, bilateral political relations, Serbia’s European integration and regional cooperation were the leading topics of today’s talks between the Heads of Polish and Serbian Diplomacy. The visit to Warsaw of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, was also an opportunity to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both countries on the strengthening of cooperation in bilateral relations and the Program for Cooperation in the Field of Culture, Education and Science for the period 2021-2024.
During the talks, the Head of Polish diplomacy expressed his readiness to further actively support Serbia’s European integration process. He expressed the hope that the new methodology for the enlargement process adopted by the EU in 2020 would allow for a more dynamic process based on the progress of reforms in each country.
– We are ready to share the rich Polish experience of the pre-accession period and 17 years of EU membership – declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Zbigniew Rau.
The Ministers also discussed the agenda of the meeting of the heads of diplomacy of the Visegrad Group and the Western Balkans scheduled for the second half of June in Rogalin. It will be the next major multilateral event dedicated to the region to be held in Poland, following the Western Balkans Summit in Poznan in 2019.
Regional cooperation was also an important topic of discussion. Minister Rau pointed out the benefits resulting from the development of such initiatives as Via Carpatia or Carpathian Strategy. Both Ministers agreed that the process of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the trend of shortening global supply chains would foster the development of bilateral trade between Poland and Serbia, as well as further increase investment opportunities in both countries.
The visit was also an opportunity to discuss security challenges in the European neighbourhood, related, among others, to hybrid threats and disinformation, both in the Western Balkans and in the EU eastern neighbourhood.
The signed agreement on cooperation between the Polish and Serbian Ministries of Foreign Affairs opens up the possibility of intensifying cooperation not only in terms of political dialogue but also in economic diplomacy, European integration and the area of security. A mechanism for regular political consultation on bilateral issues and the training of diplomats should help to achieve these objectives.