Serbia's Vucic says stands for regional cooperation, EU integration

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-30 22:26:45|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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BELGRADE, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Serbia's Prime Minister and President-elect Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that he will direct his efforts into better political and economic relations with the countries in the region as well as providing support for country's European integration process.

Vucic, who will take oath in front of the parliament on Wednesday and take over the duty from incumbent president Tomislav Nikolic for the period of next five years, said at his last press conference as prime minister held in the garden of Villa Mir that he leaves the government in a time when it managed to stabilize Serbia's financial situation and raise employment rate.

He said that although he sees the future of Serbia in the European Union (EU), before becoming a member, the country needs to become a generator of growth in the region in order to achieve better living standard for citizens.

"I see the future of Serbia in getting closer to the EU, but it is not only up to us whether we will become a member country. For citizens, it does not matter how many chapters we have opened, this is why I initiated the idea of creating a regional common economic zone," he said, announcing that as president he will invest a lot of his efforts in improving the relations among countries of the region -- Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia in order to maintain peace and stability.

He said that in his mandate the government has done more for police and army than any other in the past 35 years, especially when it comes to the purchase of equipment and weaponry for defending the country, as well dealing with crime and corruption, and that future government should continue in that direction, along with investing in culture, education and sports.

"We have to work harder to improve the reputation of our country even more so that we could count on the support of the international community. I am confident that European Union will remain to be the strategic goal of the government as well as to maintain good traditional and friendly relations with Russia, China and the United States," Vucic said.

He reminded that the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 was 2.8 percent and that he expects more than 3 percent for this year, stressing the importance of highway corridors and railway construction projects for improving the country's infrastructure.

"Agriculture is opening new opportunities as we advance its modernization rapidly, but at the same time we are strengthening food industry as well our arms industry which will increase our gross domestic product," he said.

Vucic's official inauguration as president of Serbia will take place on June 23, he revealed at the press conference. The new prime minister and his cabinet will be known by then.

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