Formation of body for cooperation with China to be proposed

BELGRADE - As part of a cooperation mechanism that brings together 16 national coordinators of central and eastern European countries and China, the soonest possible formation of a coordination body for cooperation with China in the field of infrastructure will be proposed, the Serbian Ministry of Energy and Mining said on Friday.

The setting up of the coordination body in Belgrade has been initiated by Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic, who is also minister of construction, transport and infrastructure and chairs the Serbian part of the intergovernmental commission for Serbian-Chinese cooperation, at a meeting of the national coordinators in Belgrade.

The meeting was also attended by Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antic and Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Chao.

Implementation of all projects related to transport and road infrastructure is the reason to establish the coordination body with China, the ministry said in a statement.

The coordinators agreed that major progress has been achieved in the cooperation of the countries of the region with China.

At the meeting, held in the Palace of Serbia, a report was presented on the implementation of cooperation guidelines, adopted at a summit of prime ministers and agreed in Bucharest in November 2013.

The participants of the meeting voiced their satisfaction with the cooperation achieved so far through the mechanism as it has contributed to significantly more intense cooperation in the region, as well as between China and the EU.

The activities adopted in the Bucharest guidelines have been implemented to a great extent, with a series of other activities launched as well, in particular in cooperation in the...