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President Iohannis: Romania is interested in prospects for electricity exports to Serbia
President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday in Belgrade said that Romania is interested in the prospects for electricity exports to the regional market in South-East Europe.
"Romania is interested in the prospects for electricity exports to Serbia and the regional market in South-East Europe. Exports could be conducted via companies operating on the two markets," Iohannis said after meeting his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic.
He added that Romania and Serbia want to carry out a series of joint economic projects in important areas such as infrastructure, mentioning to the point the Timisoara-Belgrade motorway, the cross-border cooperation and the energy interconnection.
Iohannis mentioned also having discussed national minorities and their rights with his Serbian counterpart.
"I and Mr President Nikolic agreed that it is our duty, the duty of the two countries' authorities, to act decidedly to consolidate the role of the Romanian minority of Serbia and the Serbian minority of Romania as a solid bridge between us. Romania is fully open to as close a bilateral cooperation as possible to solve the still persisting issues in the area and that have a special relevance also from the perspective of European integration," said Iohannis.
He added that Romania supports Serbia's accession to the European Union, reaffirming the interest and importance attached by Romania to relations with Western Balkan countries and to regional stability.
"It is in the interest of our countries, region and the European Union overall that stability and peace exist in the region. In my conversations with Mr President Nikolic I pointed out that Romania is a clear supporter of the European perspective of Serbia and the countries in the region. Serbia deserves rewards for its significant reform efforts so far. We hope the actual negotiations over Serbia's accession to the European Union will start this year. We know from our own experience the difficulties and efforts entailed by the entire process of preparation for and negotiations over EU accession. That is why I voiced Romania's full readiness and openness to provide assistance to Serbia in areas that are relevant to the integration process, provided Serbia wants it," said Iohannis.