Rama, Vucic, Dimitrov (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC/DS)
On Nov. 4 in Belgrade, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Dimitrov as part of the Open Balkans initiative for furthering regional cooperation.
Formerly known as the Mini Schengen, the initiative involves Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia and was renamed Open Balkans in late July, when the leaders of the three countries – Edi Rama, Zoran Zaev and Aleksandar Vucic – met in Skopje to discuss its particulars.
It was then decided to abolish border control between Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania as of Jan. 1, 2023. The Skopje meeting also resulted in the signing of three other agreements: the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation on Facilitating the Imports, Exports and Movement of Goods in the Western Balkans, the Memorandum on Free Access to the Western Balkans Labor Market and the Agreement on Cooperation in Disaster Protection in the Western Balkans
Initially, Zoran Zaev was set to attend the Nov. 4 Belgrade conference as well, but after resigning from office due to his recent defeat at local elections, it was decided that Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov would take his place.
Prior to their meeting in the Serbian capital, the three officials will meet with the representatives of companies from Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, as well as with representatives of the Atlantic Council.
To get full access to all content of interest see our
Subscription offer
Or
Register for free
And read up to 5 articles each month.
Already have an account? Please Log in.