Belgrade hosts informal regional conference

Belgrade hosts informal regional conference

BELGRADE -- An informal meeting of foreign and finance ministers of the West Balkan dedicated to economic management and cooperation, is taking place on Thursday.

It was announced by the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meeting is attended by Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs Jyrki Katainen, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule, Special Representative of the Italian EU Presidency Andrea Orizio, and Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council Goran Svilanovic, said the ministry.

Serbia is represented by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić and Economy Minister Željko Sertić, and the participants are expected to issue a joint final statement.

According to the Belgrade-based media, the Thursday's meeting will also be attended by ministers in the government of Albania, while Kosovo will be represented by Foreign Minister Enver Hodzaj and Minister of Economic Development Fadilj Ismajli.

The conference will be an informal Gymnich meeting, and it will not address any status-related issues, particularly with reference to Kosovo, Dačić specified earlier.

"We want all these conferences to have a goal and a conclusion, and we do not want to organize meetings where no agreements could be reached," said Dačić.

The meeting of regional foreign and economy ministers was arranged at the Conference on the Western Balkans in Berlin, held on August 28 at the initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which brought together leading politicians from the region.