Brnabic ahead of meeting with Merkel: "We don't agree on everything, but it's important to talk"

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has arrived in Berlin for an official visit during which she will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, to discuss improving the two countries' overall relations. Ahead of the meeting with Europe's most powerful politician, Prime Minister Brnabic told Telegraf.rs about her expectations from the meeting with Merkel.

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• What are your expectations from the meeting with Merkel?

I came to Berlin for an official visit, at the invitation of Chancellor Merkel. This in itself is a great honor, shown to our country and our citizens. The Federal Republic of Germany is our most important trading partner, and German companies are constantly topping the list when it comes to investing in Serbia, which is why meeting with Chancellor Merkel is of utmost importance to our country and our citizens.

To me, as the prime minister, the fact that German companies employ 60,000 citizens in Serbia is a clear signal that we must strive to improve good cooperation and good relations.

I'm not running away from the reality that Germany and Serbia disagree on some issues, but it's very important that we hold top-level discussions on a regular basis.

The continued commitment of Chancellor Merkel to the Western Balkans and the integration of our entire region into the European Union is of particular importance to me.

Finally, I would like to emphasize that the greatest credit for such good relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Serbia as they are today, goes to Chancellor Merkel and President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic.

Photo: Serbian Government

• Will you talk about a special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue?

"It's well known that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is mediated by the EU. The current situation in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija is always the subject of discussions that I have with senior foreign officials, and it will certainly be the same this time as well.

• Who will you speak with during your two-day visit?

In addition to Chancellor Merkel, during my visit to Germany I will also meet with the president of the Federal Association of German Medium-Sized Enterprises, with whom I will talk about improving our economic cooperation.

A meeting with the CEO of Bitkom, which brings together a large number of companies focused on new technologies, is also planned. It will be another opportunity to present Serbia and its potential to relevant interlocutors in Germany.

Whenever I go on official and working visits abroad, I try to take every opportunity to present what we have done to improve the business climate in Serbia, which incentives we have introduced for businesses and for potential investors...  The visit to Germany will certainly be no exception.

M.Ivas (marko.ivas@telegraf.rs)