Serbia to open embassy in Latvia

RIGA - Serbija will open its embassy in Latvia, Ana Brnabic, Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly, told reporters following a meeting with Saeima Speaker Daiga Mierina (Greens/Farmers) on Tuesday.

Mierina said she was glad about it, noting that this will be the only Serbian embassy in the Baltic states. The embassy will be located in Riga.

The Saeima speaker believes that the opening of the embassy will promote economic relations between the two countries.

The Saeima speaker said that Latvia is ready to help with its experience in Serbia's reform process on its path to the European Union (EU). The Latvian speaker commended the Serbian government for confirming European integration as its strategic goal. At the same time, Mierina noted that progress towards EU membership depends on the progress of the reforms and the normalization of relations with Kosovo.

During the meeting, Mierina underlined continued support for Ukraine. "There should be no back-channel agreement without Ukraine, the process must be transparent and fair, otherwise it is impossible to achieve long-term peace," the Latvian speaker said. She stressed the need to continue the policy of deterring Russia and called on Serbia to join the process.

Meanwhile, the speaker of the Serbian National Assembly stressed that Serbia's main strategic goal is accession to the EU, adding that the target is ambitious - to complete all the necessary reforms by 2026.

Brnabic noted that in the past there had not been active communication between Serbia and the Baltic states. "We have experienced a lot of misunderstanding, there has also been a lack of communication, which may have resulted in insufficient support for our integration into Europe," the Serbian parliament speaker said, adding that this is why a decision has been taken to work more actively on improving the relations.

Brnabic said that economic cooperation between the two countries could be described as moderate, but she hoped that the opening of the embassy in Riga would strengthen the exchange.

During her visit, Brnabic is also scheduled to meet with President Edgars Rinkevics and representatives of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs and IT community Riga TechGirls.