Vucevic: Serbian, Italian governments to hold joint session on January 31

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Milos Vucevic said on Monday a Serbia-Northeast Italy business forum in Belgrade was a prelude to a January 31 joint session of the Serbian and Italian governments.

"That meeting should lend new strength and new energy to overall Serbia-Italy relations, also in the economy, of course," Vucevic said in a speech at the forum.

He said the event proved that bilateral relations with Italy were on an upward trajectory and that the key message of the Serbian government and President Aleksandar Vucic was that Serbia would preserve national and regional stability and peace and continue on the path to EU integration at an accelerated pace.

"The goal of the Government of Serbia is to adopt all necessary acts by end-2026 and carry out a complete reform in terms of both the growth agenda and the growth plan, so that we do all that is up to us," Vucevic said.

He added that Italy had quite a high presence in the Serbian market and that many Italian companies were operating in Serbia.

"Thirty thousand people work at companies founded with Italian-owned capital and Italian companies dominate, above all, in the banking sector and the insurance sector. I believe that, by opening up to Europe and the world, we will become even more attractive to investors, and I believe this forum is the essence of that," Vucevic said.

"Serbia is not an EU member state, and it is not a member of any military alliance. It has open communication with Asian as well as African states amid difficult geopolitical circumstances, yet it has succeeded in obtaining investment-grade credit rating, which is a signal to investors that Serbia is a good place and a safe haven for their capital," Vucevic also said.