CEI Secretary General Franco Dal Mas has made his first international visit today to Serbia, holding this year’s CEI Presidency.
The meeting with Foreign Minister Marko Djurić allowed for the discussion of key issues on the CEI agenda, including support for European integration, the development of regional cooperation, the situation in Ukraine, and the strengthening of the CEI’s political role.
With regard to European integration, a priority objective for the CEI, Secretary General Dal Mas expressed hope for
“an acceleration of the process, reaffirming the full commitment of the Organisation and of the Executive Secretariat to support Serbia and other candidate countries.”
“The European integration process requires alignment with the European system, and we will provide support through regional cooperation,” stated Dal Mas, adding that “at the same time, Europe cannot only be a centre of bureaucracy but must be a political space that welcomes all peoples, respecting all cultural differences.”
Dal Mas expressed his strong appreciation for Serbia’s CEI Presidency programme for 2025 and emphasised the importance of working on concrete projects in regional cooperation, particularly highlighting opportunities in the fields of infrastructure connectivity, such as the Trieste – Belgrade railway corridor, legal diplomacy, and sustainability. The Secretary General invited the Minister to visit Trieste.
During the visit, the delegation also met with the Minister for European Integration, Tanja Miščević, and the Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the Republic of Serbia, Tatjana Jović.
The visit concluded with a commitment to intensify efforts to promote cooperation within the CEI, aiming to consolidate the CEI’s role as a catalyst for development and dialogue between EU Member States and candidate countries in the Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe.
For more info: arsova@cei.int
