Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven (L) and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic hold a meeting at the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade, Serbia, on August 16, 2016. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven started his visit to Serbia on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Nemanja Cabric)
BELGRADE, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) path is the only true path for Serbia, said visiting Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Tuesday here, adding that the country's government made visible progress in reforming the state and its economy.
Lofven who arrived in Serbia on Monday evening was officially welcomed on Tuesday by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic at Palace of Serbia where two leaders talked about Serbian EU integrations, on-going reforms, peace and stability in the region, as well as economic relations between two countries.
Lofven voiced Sweden's unambiguous support to the Serbia's EU path, assuring Vucic that the country made a good decision to join European family of nations.
"We will continue to support you. We will do all that you ask from us in that regard," Lofven said, stressing that he can recognize the progress that the country has made when it comes to economic and other reforms.
"Reforms gave good results. As PM (Vucic) said this morning, it is important both for public companies and private sectors that there is a clear insight into the public finances and that they are transparent, because these are good signals for investments and healthy economy," Lofven said.
Lofven underlined that his country together with Finland are members of EU, but not members of NATO, which is similar to what Serbia plans to achieve.
"We respect such an attitude and we will continue to promote it, as this is important for the stability. In this perspective, we are a small country and I am sure that small countries need this kind of cooperation," he stressed, adding that Sweden will contribute to strengthening of the EU, but will continue to be neutral in regard to NATO.
Vucic said that political relations between the two countries are extremely well, and expressed hope that there will be improvement in economic relations too.
He stated that in first half of this year there was a 10.5 percent increase of trade between Serbia and Sweden, adding that the modest exchange between the two countries worth around 210 million euros per year could be increased in following period.
"Arrival of Swedish investments is of priority importance for Serbia," Vucic said, citing Swedish IKEA, which started construction of its first department store in Belgrade this April, as a promising example for the future of economic cooperation.
Vucic said he agreed with Lofven during their meeting that maintaining peace and stability is the key condition for the progress of the economy and better life both in Serbia and countries in the region.
"I told Lofven about maintaining and preserving peace and stability, and I notified him that Serbia will do all in its power to achieve this," Vucic concluded.
