The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic, talked today, at the National Assembly House, to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski.

They discussed the improvement of bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Macedonia, with a special focus on parliamentary cooperation.

Prime Minister Gruevski stressed the importance of cooperation between Serbia and Macedonia on the political and economic level, stating that the two countries have many common interests, full-fledged European Union membership being the most important among them. He added that the global economic crisis has had an impact on the economic stability of the entire region, including the economic exchange between Serbia and Macedonia, expressing his belief that a more intense cooperation on all levels and realisation of projects of common interest, such as the opening of three new border crossings, construction of Corridor 10 and projects in the field of energy production, would make the crisis easier to weather.

The National Assembly Speaker stressed that the stability of the region is in two countries’ common interest, in both the sphere of economy and European integrations. She briefed Prime Minister Gruevski on the National Assembly’s legislative activity, emphasising the need to intensify parliamentary cooperation, above all on the level of European Integrations and Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as the level of parliamentary groups. The Speaker also added that cooperation between the Serbian and Macedonian parliaments in international organisations could be realised through taking common standpoints, considering the two countries’ common aspirations and interests.