Brnabic receives French Western Balkans envoy

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic met with French special Western Balkans envoy Rene Troccaz on Wednesday.

Brnabic noted that France was one of Serbia's most significant partners and that the level of bilateral relations was exceptional, mostly as a result of an extremely good and friendly relationship between the presidents of the two countries, the Serbian government said in a statement.

Brnabic said the EU remained a strategic priority for Serbia and that partnership with it was extremely important.

She explained in detail Serbia's position when it comes to political and economic trends in the region and noted that connectivity, trust and open cooperation were key to development and economic prosperity.

Speaking about Kosovo-Metohija and the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Brnabic said Serbia insisted on preservation of peace, stability and security and was investing exceptional efforts with a view to reaching an agreement through dialogue, and noted that, unfortunately, Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija lacked the basic conditions for normal life.

Troccaz said Serbia and France were connected by deep friendly ties and shared history, and added that France had a sincere wish to help Serbia on its EU path.

He noted the very good cooperation maintained by Serbia and its businesspeople with the French association of privately-owned companies, MEDEF International, and with France's development agency AFD.

Troccaz congratulated Serbia on winning a bid to host EXPO 2027 and said hosting the prestigious event would bring high visibility and economic and political benefits to the country.