Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday that the meeting about the Western Balkan countries in Geneva would be an opportunity for talks about the referendum in Macedonia, the negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo, and a chance to analyse the state of affairs in Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of the next weekend's general election.

“We intend to talk at the highest level about the consequences of Sunday’s referendum in Macedonia, the security situation, the ongoing negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo, and we want to analyse the situation in Bosnia ahead of the general election this weekend. There are many political and security challenges, which is why it is important that we are always present at this type of a meeting at the highest level,” Plenkovic said.

The World Economy Forum is organising a conference titled Strategic Dialogue Western Balkans in Geneva, which will bring together heads of state and prime ministers from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Turkey.

On Monday evening, state officials will attend a joint working dinner.

Plenkovic said the goal of the forum was to discuss how Southeast European countries can move forward toward their main objective – joining the EU – which Croatia can help them achieve.

“We want to see how several important political and security issues would be resolved, and we want to help in transferring knowledge in regard to what these countries can expect from their membership negotiations. That’s our strategic position, and I think it’s important, as we prepare for for Croatia’s chairmanship during the new European Commission’s term, and the new European Parliament assembly, to give an impetus to that process in the first half of 2020, when Croatia will take over the helm of the EU Council,” Plenkovic said.

Before a working dinner on Monday evening, Plenkovic met with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, and Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Roberto Azevedo.

Plenkovic said that a ministerial meeting would be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in June 2020, at which the EU would play an important role, just as Croatia would be holding the EU presidency.

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