When we organize Serbia, then practically we will already be a part of the European family of nations, although we may not immediately be a member of the EU, says Ana Brnabić, writes Tanjug.
The Prime Minister of Serbia said that when we have stable and sustainable economic growth, which is not based only on investments, efficient public administration, and an objective and independent judiciary, then we can "relaxedly wait for the decision of the EU whether it will open the door for new members or not." .
In response to the statement that in the conversation with the executive editor of the Ekonomist magazine, she pointed out several times that, when it comes to Serbia's accession to the EU, the path is more important than the final goal, Brnabićeva states for Tanjug that she always tries to point out in Serbia that the path itself is more important than the Serbia's entry into the EU.
"If we assume hypothetically that at some point, say in 2021, we will finish all the key reforms, and then wait for the EU to open its doors to new members, then we will already have a large part of the benefits that the member countries have. That investors will get the message that we are a stable environment without major earthquakes, that regardless of who is in power, the country is moving forward stably," emphasized the Prime Minister of Serbia.
About how important Serbia is to China today and how much our public is aware of that fact, Brnabićeva says that "we are still not aware of how much the previous government did to make us important to China."
"In addition to the excellent geographical position we have, we also had to make an effort to be a stable partner that implements joint projects. It is no coincidence that my meeting in Budapest with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang was the longest of all the meetings he had. It is one thing to have a protocol meeting, and the second is a meeting that deals with specific projects and topics," Brnabić pointed out.
The Prime Minister of Serbia reminds that Serbia has projects worth six billion dollars with China and that is why she thinks that China is counting on Serbia as a serious partner.
"We are finally finishing Corridor 10, unfortunately, many years later than it should have been. Now we are pushing Corridor 11 as fast as we can and we have embarked on a serious modernization of the railway infrastructure, which is just as important as the road infrastructure," said Brnabić.
When asked what Serbia could learn from examples of countries like Singapore or cities like Hong Kong, where littering is punishable by 20.000 euros or six months in prison, Brnabić said that the first thing we should learn from such examples is - that it is possible to change the world.
"That in 20 years it is possible for you to completely change your perspective of development... What was Singapore before 1960? A poor port. And then they got a Prime Minister who believed that changes were possible," remarked the Prime Minister of Serbia.
"That's what we miss the most! People say: 'Eh, now you want to compare yourself to Norway!' And they don't know that in the XNUMXs, Yugoslavia sent aid to Norway. Later they discovered oil, but even that wouldn't have been enough for them if they didn't know how to use it to build their capacities, build their educational system and become one of the most advanced nations in the world," Brnabić said.
According to her, the most important thing is for each of us to understand that changes start from individuals and that "you can't expect not to pay a bus ticket, but public transport works flawlessly, to work in the gray economy, and expect to have excellent roads ".
"That faith in change is what we lack", believes Brnabić, but she also points out that "without any false modesty, she thinks that Serbia has that potential".
Regarding Serbia's cooperation with Russia, Brnabićeva says that it is known to everyone and is very transparent from our side.
"It is known that Russia is our traditional friend, but also that we have signed a free trade agreement with Russia, as well as that country is our only source of gas and that our energy stability is tied to them. On the other hand, our goals are the EU and we do not see that we have any closer relations with Russia than some other countries that are members or founders of the EU," said the Prime Minister of Serbia.
She reminded that Serbia is militarily neutral, but she also pointed out that in the past two years we had many more joint military exercises with the USA or NATO than with Russia.
The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, was the key speaker at the gala dinner organized by "The Economist" in Hong Kong as part of the annual conference "The World in 2018", where she answered all the questions.
About how important she thinks it is to change the image of Serbia in such a way, Brnabić says:
"It is very important to point out that I am not the one who changed the image of Serbia, but the current President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, did it. He introduced one thing that seems to be easy but in practice is very difficult. It is the practice that in conversations with the great powers you always speak honestly about your positions and you don't hide your partnerships with some other countries which, to be honest, was not always the case. Also, that you only promise what you can deliver and what you can't deliver - you don't promise ".
The Prime Minister of Serbia points out that this creates an image that you are a stable and predictable partner, which, she says, is important both in business and in politics.
"On the other hand, his (Vučić's) decision to nominate me as a candidate speaks of the fact that there is an intention to maintain such an image of Serbia. We are trying to continue in that direction, and although the pace is really sometimes deadly, I have to say - it is nice to represent Serbia," concluded Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić.
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