Brnabic: Serbia-Spain political, economic ties improving steadily

MADRID - Speaking to reporters after several meetings with Spanish officials in Madrid, Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Thursday Serbia's political and economic ties with Spain were improving steadily and that she had asked the officials for further continued support for Serbia's EU integration.

Earlier, Brnabic met with Spanish Congress Speaker Francina Armengol after kicking off an official visit to Spain with a meeting with Senate Speaker Pedro Rollan.

"Today, we are visiting an exceptionally friendly country, a country that is safeguarding Serbia's interests in every possible way, a country that, to us, is the most known as one of the (EU's) five non-recognisers of the so-called 'Republic of Kosovo,'" Brnabic told reporters in Madrid.

She noted that Spain, an EU and NATO member state, truly respected and constantly implemented the principles of international law and the UN Charter.

Brnabic added that Spain was one of the countries that "respect the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia in a truly unwavering manner."

"That is why I am glad to have had an opportunity to speak with the Senate and Congress speakers and to thank Spain, the people of Spain and the Kingdom (of Spain) for that, and to ask them to provide further continued support, and to be our voice - and at the end of the day, the voice of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija - in European institutions, in the European Council, in the Council of Europe, in a time when Serbs face unprecedented torture by the Pristina institutions," Brnabic said.

She said her visit was important because this year marked the 110th anniversary of Serbia's diplomatic relations with Spain.

"Our political and economic relations are getting better and better. The July 2022 visit to Serbia by the PM of Spain, Mr (Pedro) Sanchez, definitely represented a landmark. It was the first-ever visit to the Republic of Serbia by a Spanish PM. The political and economic cooperation has been gaining momentum since then," Brnabic said.

She said 2022 had been the first year when goods trade with Spain had exceeded 1 bln euros, and added that it had totalled over 1.5 bln last year.

"We have a growing number of Spanish investments, but Spain is also involved in an increasing number of infrastructure projects in Serbia, including the Belgrade metro, as well as in energy projects in the Republic of Serbia, so we discussed additional cooperation and ways we can strengthen it, and bring our two countries closer, through parliamentary cooperation," Brnabic said.

She also said Spain would be among the 12 countries with the largest pavilions at EXPO 2027 Belgrade and that Spanish representatives were very excited about the country's participation in the event.

"Let me finish by saying that Spain is one of those countries that support Serbia on its European path in an exceptional, strong, direct and open manner. They have given all the green lights, all approvals for opening Cluster 3 (in Serbia's EU accession talks), and they are always there to help and to represent Serbian interests in European institutions," Brnabic said.