Balkans Conference To Be Held In Trieste On January 24 - Italian Foreign Minister

A conference on the Balkans intended as part of the efforts to find solutions to the aggravation of the situation in Kosovo, will be held on January 24 in the Italian city of Trieste, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday.

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2022) A conference on the Balkans intended as part of the efforts to find solutions to the aggravation of the situation in Kosovo, will be held on January 24 in the Italian city of Trieste, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday.

"On January 24, I am organizing an Italian conference on the Balkans in Trieste. It will be followed in the coming months by various business forums, starting with Belgrade and Pristina. We pay close attention to the political and economic presence of our country in this region. We want to bring peace, stability and economic growth. And we in no way intend to leave the Balkans for the penetration of non-European interests. Therefore, we support Bosnia and Herzegovina for EU membership. The same applies to other candidate countries - Montenegro, Serbia and Albania," Tajani said in an interview with Italian newspaper il Messaggero.

Tajani confirmed that Rome intends to play a more active role in the Balkans, both politically and economically.

"The presence of our military in the Balkans and in the world is not just evidence. It is an important sign of our foreign policy and economic strategy. And all efforts for presence and activity should serve to increase the internationalization of Italian companies and create the conditions in which they can successfully operate and contribute to the development of these countries," the foreign minister said as quoted by the newspaper.

In November, Antonio Tajani together with Defense Minister Guido Crosetto visited Belgrade and Pristina, where they met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo Albin Kurti. After this visit, Tajani has repeatedly stated that Italy would play a prominent role in easing tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, as well as in the Balkans as a whole.