Italy's Prime minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Serbia on Sunday for her first official visit to the country since she took office. She met with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic with whom she discussed the improvement of cooperation between the two countries as well as the European integration of Serbia, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and the war in Ukraine. Pročitaj više

Vucic said that he discussed all important issues with PM Meloni, and that he believes that her arrival will contribute to the further improvement of the relations between the two countries.

He also said that the political and economic relations between Serbia and Italy are good, emphasising that the exchange of goods between the two countries is 4.6 billion euro.

“I believe it will be much higher when Stellantis starts producing electric ‘pandas’ in Kragujevac,” said Vucic.

According to him, they also discussed regional issues and Serbia’s European path.

“I am especially grateful to the Prime Minister of Italy for Italy’s essential and persistent support for Serbia’s European path, and I am especially grateful to Giorgia for always wanting to hear our opinion and always having enough time to listen to what Serbia had to say and for not having a one-sided approach to problems in the region,” Serbian President stressed.

Meloni: Italy will always support Serbia in the Council of Europe

Addressing the media, Meloni pointed out that Italy and Serbia have improved bilateral relations over the past period.

“Our trade exchange, which is exceptional, could be even better. There are many Italian companies in Serbia that employ 150,000 people. Belgrade is the first city in the world where some renowned Italian companies have opened representative offices. All this shows how much attention we have and how much attention our entrepreneurial world looks at Serbia,“ said Meloni.

She emphasised that Italy will always support Serbia in the Council of Europe and said that Italy will continue to support the enlargement process, which she called the reunification of Europe.

“For us, it is important that Western Europe is a part of the EU family. Vucic knows that he can count on Italy’s support in the Council of Europe,” said Meloni.

She also touched upon the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, stressing that she believes that Serbia will continue to have a constructive approach in the dialogue on Kosovo.

“Italy supports this process, and we are working to ensure that all the obligations that the parties have undertaken are met,” she said.