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Serbia, Macedonia to deepen parliamentary cooperation

  BELGRADE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Parliaments of Serbia and Macedonia are going to deepen cooperation in order to promote stronger regional ties and the European agenda of the two countries, their respective speakers Maja Gojkovic and Talat Jaferi agreed during their meeting in Belgrade on Wednesday.

  During his official visit, Jaferi along with Gojkovic announced "a significant dialogue between the two parliaments" to promote political dialogue and deepen cooperation between the two countries.

  "Gojkovic and Jaferi agreed that Serbia and Macedonia have a joint aim -- to become members of the European Union (EU) as soon as possible, which opens space for additional parliamentary cooperation through Committees for European Integration," according to an official Serbian government press release.

  Gojkovic and Jaferi also agreed that the tempo of the negotiation process needs to be accelerated, with a clear perspective of the EU path for the whole region, especially in the context of recently-held EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria.

  The two agreed that regional cooperation is of immense importance "for stability and progress of the whole region", and they welcomed the realization of infrastructural cooperation and new opportunities for economic cooperation and interconnection between the two countries, as well as joint participation at international markets.

  "Speakers of the two parliaments welcomed the cooperation between the two governments especially in the area of economy, and expressed their readiness to support it further, by ratifying the agreements made between the two governments," the official statement said.

  Jaferi also met with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, with whom he discussed regional cooperation and the European path of the two countries, agreeing that those are the key for the stability and prosperity of the Western Balkans.

  Brnabic said that Serbia will stand for Macedonia to open accession negotiations and is ready to exchange its experiences in the process.

  She continued that Serbia supports that an agreement between Skopje and Athens regarding the Macedonia name issue gets resolved as soon as possible, as this will significantly contribute to the stability of the region.