A group of Italian lawmakers have begun a two-day visit to Serbia's capital Belgrade as a part of efforts to integrate it and other western Balkan within the European Union, a priority for Italy's foreign policy, the lower house of parliament said Thursday in a statement.
The delegation from the Italian lower house of parliament's foreign affairs committee headed by its chairwoman Marta Grande on Thursday kicked off their visit with a meeting with Serbia's president Alexandar Vucic, the statement said.
"It is the first official visit to Serbia by the foreign affairs committee, which shows that the European integration process of Serbia and the western Balkans region is a priority for the stability of Europe and the Mediterranean region and for Italy's foreign policy," the statement added.
On Friday, the Italian MPs are due to hold talks with Serbia's foreign minister and deputy premier Ivica Dadic, with European integration minister Jadranka Joksimovic and with the Serbian parliament's European integration and foreign affairs committees, according to the statement.
The Italian delegation will later on Friday meet Serbia's deputy parliament speaker Vladimir Marinkovic and lawmakers from the Alliance for Serbia opposition bloc, as well as civil society representatives and members of the Italian community in Belgrade, said the statement.
Grande and fellow MPs Dimitri Coin and Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove will end their trip with a visit to the Italian military cemetery in Belgrade, where they will lay a wreath to honour Italians who died fighting for their country during World War I, the statement concluded.
Serbia in 2014 began membership talks with the EU, which has been brokering talks on normalising relations between Serbia and neighbouring Kosovo, a precondition for both sides for joining the 28-member bloc.
