London: Ambassador Joksimović: Economy is key for the development of relations between Serbia and Great Britain

In a video address at the closing of the conference on Serbian-British relations, which was held in Belgrade, Joksimović pointed out that an intensive dialogue is needed between Serbia and Britain, which will contribute to further improvement of relations.

She pointed out that the relations between these two countries are taking place in certain circumstances, adding that the world has gone through several crises, among which are the financial, migrant crisis and Brexit.

"The United Kingdom has left the EU and it is the first country to abandon membership. On the other hand, Serbia is a country that strives for full membership in the EU, and we have an opposing direction of movement there, but we still share common values ​​such as the desire for free trade, democracy, and the rule of law", Joksimović said.

She pointed out that even though Great Britain left the EU, it continues to support Serbia in reforms on the European path.

Joksimović says that by leaving the EU, the United Kingdom has lost its leverage over the region, but adds that there are opportunities for it to continue to influence the processes through the actions of the Quint and through international organizations such as the United Nations.

She reminds that Great Britain is one of the five countries with the right of veto in that organization.

The ambassador says that the consequences of Brexit have not yet been fully understood and that it is not yet known what left a greater impact on the British economy, Brexit or the pandemic.

Speaking about the fight of Great Britain against the corona virus pandemic, Joksimović says that the United Kingdom is proud of the fact that one of the first vaccines against Covid was developed at its University of Oxford, and that the UK is the first country in Europe to start the mass vaccination process.

She points out that Serbia also provided vaccines for its citizens in a timely manner from various manufacturers, as well as that it started the process of mass vaccination before the end of 2020.

Joksimović stated that Serbia is grateful to Great Britain for the 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca that we received, adding that it is one of the vaccines available in Serbia.

She points out that for the UK, precisely because of the Brexit process, the issue of the economy has become one of the priorities, adding that in that context, Serbia and Britain share common goals, because our country also puts the economy in the first place.

She reminded that Serbia and Great Britain established a new trade agreement in May this year for further unhindered development of trade cooperation.

The ambassador also pointed out that Great Britain participates in the construction of infrastructure projects in our country, among which is the Moravian Corridor.

She adds that the British are also interested in participating in the construction of the subway, and in the development of the railway infrastructure.

"These are projects that can lead to further rapprochement in the future", said Joksimović.

She says that an important segment of cooperation between Serbia and Britain is the issue of defense and security, as well as that there is room for the development of cooperation in that area.

Joksimović expressed hope that Serbia would have the opportunity to host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, adding that the pandemic had postponed the meeting at the highest political level.

She also spoke about the topics that separate Serbia and Britain, citing Kosovo and Metohija as one of them.

"We do not have a common language there. Britain is one of the first countries to recognize the independence of our southern province, and in that context, the UK views the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina as something that it supports on the one hand, but on the other hand there are differences that have a certain impact on overall bilateral relations", pointed out Joksimović.