New agreements for Serbia on projects with China at 16 plus 1 summit in July in Sofia – Investments throughout Balkans planned

Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic and Ambassador of China Li Manchang discussed the realization of infrastructural projects and the signing of the agreements on new joint projects of Serbia and China on May 24. The ministry announced that both sides were satisfied with the cooperation and ready for new projects, Beta reports.

For Serbia, Mihajlovic said, it is of great importance to sign a commercial agreement on the final section of the Belgrade-Budapest high speed railway, from Novi Sad to Subotica, as well as the contract on the financing of the construction of the Preljina-Pozega highway, so that the works might start as soon as possible.

– The reconstruction of the remaining sections of the railway Corridor 10, from Belgrade to Nis, and further to the Macedonian border, is also very important to us – the minister said.

Those two agreements and a memorandum on reconstruction of the Belgrade-Nis and Nis-Presevo are expected to be signed in July in Sofia at the summit of China and 16 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Beta reports.

Politika writes in the issue of May 24 that the Chinese state is ready for new investments in the Western Balkans and in Central and Eastern Europe. Bulgaria is happy to welcome Chinese leaders to the seventh 16+1 summit in Sofia. These are the key messages of the meeting of Chinese diplomat Wang Yi and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva in Buenos Aires during the G20 summit, agencies report.

This March, Reuters reported that China was considering making the group meetings with leaders of Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, B&H, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia less frequent. The official Beijing and Southeast Europe held the first 16+1 summit in Budapest in 2011, in the midst of the financial crisis.

The news from the capital of Argentina says that Sofia is preparing for 16+1 following the recent EU summit.

– We are happy to encourage Chinese companies to invest even more in Bulgaria, Western Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe. We are ready to cooperate in this process. The cooperation of China and the 16 states from this part of Europe and the relations between China and the EU are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they contribute to the strengthening of European integration. Wang said in Buenos Aires, as reported by Politika.

Beijing believes that the July summit will further enhance the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe, says the press release published on Wednesday, May 23, 2018.

Zakharieva notified the Chinese colleague of the progress and the outcome of the EU summit, held on May 17-18 and mentioned the idea for financing a range of infrastructural projects, which would connect the region and stimulate competitiveness, with around EUR 30 billion.

– Prime Minister Borissov is personally dedicated to seeking for and finding sources of finance for those projects in the Balkans. We are a bridge between Europe and Asia. I believe that the 16+1 summit this July in Sofia will contribute considerably to the development of the region – Zakharieva emphasized, as Politika reports.

Government of the People's Republic of China

Chinese investments

161 summit

Beijing

Government of China

Western Balkans

Central Europe

Eastern Europe

summit of China and Central and Eastern Europe

Wang Yi

Ekaterina Zakharieva

G20 summit

Chinese investments in Europe

Chinese investments in the Balkans

EU and Western Balkans summit

Ministry of Construction

Embassy of China in Belgrade

Zorana Mihajlovic

Li Manchang

Belgrade Budapest railway

Preljina Pozega highway

railway corridor 10