(L-R): Xavier Bettel, PM Luxembourg; Ana Brnabić, PM Serbia;
Credit: ME
On Thursday and Friday 30 and 31 May 2019, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, travelled to Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia for an official visit.
Upon his arrival, Prime Minister Bettel stated "I am very grateful for your welcome and I am very happy to be here with you in Belgrade. Especially since this visit is the first of a Luxembourg Prime Minister since 2003. This visit highlights the excellent bilateral relations between our countries, as well as the close links that exist between us, not only politically, economically and culturally, but also between our peoples. With more than 2,000 people, we have a large Serbian community in Luxembourg and I look forward to it."
On Thursday, the Prime Minister had a meeting with the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. The exchanges focused mainly on bilateral relations between Serbia and Luxembourg, as well as current European political developments and relations between the European Union and the Western Balkans. "Luxembourg is a long-standing partner of Serbia and has always supported the European path of your country. Serbia has a key role to play in maintaining stability and peace on our continent. An agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is not only in the interest of the citizens of both countries, but is an important way to continue on the road to EU membership. It is of course up to the Serbian and Kosovan authorities to decide on a mutually acceptable agreement. However, I encourage good neighbours and constructive regional relations" said the Prime Minister after the meeting and added "at the European level, the enlargement package - which was published this week by the European Commission - salutes the efforts made by the Serbian authorities. Now we must continue these efforts, particularly in the area of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the fight against corruption and the freedom of the press".
On Friday, the Prime Minister had a meeting with Prime Minister Ana Brnabić to take stock of the excellent bilateral relations between Serbia and Luxembourg. With regard to economic relations in terms of investment, for example, Luxembourg is one of the largest foreign direct investors in Serbia. In addition, Luxembourg supports Serbia through various forms of technical assistance in a wide range of areas such as public administration, the financial sector and the world of young entrepreneurs. This meeting also allowed for a constructive exchange on potential new avenues of cooperation between Serbia and Luxembourg.
"Here I want to highlight one area that could be very promising for close cooperation between our countries in the future: this is particularly the field of ICT. Like Prime Minister Brnabić, I'm the Minister of Digitization, because it's a subject in which I see a lot of potential. So it is no surprise that my government is committed to putting our country at the forefront of digital innovation for the benefit of our citizens and our economies. And I am therefore convinced that collaboration with Serbia in this area could be fruitful for our two countries," noted the Prime Minister after this meeting.
During his visit, Prime Minister Bettel also visited an ICT Hub, which was supported by the "Star Venture" assistance project. This project, financed in its entirety by the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, consists of technical assistance aimed at setting up microenterprise accelerators throughout the Balkans.
"Relations between Luxembourg and Serbia are based on trust and mutual respect. And Serbia is and will remain an important partner for Luxembourg," said the Prime Minister to conclude his official visit to Belgrade.
