British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that protecting the security and stability of the Western Balkans is in the common interest and that everyone must be aware of the scale of the threats facing the region, from "Russian efforts to reignite ethnic tensions, to vicious gangs of people smugglers who trade in human lives."
The British Foreign Office announced today that Cooper will focus on preserving the security and stability of the Western Balkans, strengthening economic growth and trade, and increased cooperation in the fight against organized migrant smuggling at the meeting of Western Balkan foreign ministers, which is being held at Hillsborough Castle near Belfast.
In addition to the foreign ministers of the Western Balkans six, including Deputy Prime Minister and Montenegrin Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimović, the meeting is also attended by ministers or high-ranking officials from Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Greece, Bulgaria and others.
The two-day ministerial meeting, which is being held within the framework of the Berlin Process and is intended to prepare the summit of Western Balkan leaders in London on October 22, began last night with a reception hosted by British Minister Cooper.
At the meeting, the British minister will announce a new project worth four million pounds to strengthen cyber resilience in the region and share experiences in combating disinformation and other malign activities by hostile actors, the Foreign Office announced.
Ahead of the meeting, she will also announce an investment of ten million pounds in innovative programs aimed at combating people smuggling in the Western Balkans and other key regions where international cooperation in the area of illegal migration is vital, the statement said.
The money will reportedly be invested in new projects in the Western Balkans, including training police forces in Kosovo, strengthening border security, and assisting potential victims of human trafficking in Serbia, the Foreign Office added.
"International cooperation is critical to fueling our economic growth, protecting our national security, and securing our borders. The partnerships we forge abroad make us stronger here at home," said Cooper.
She added that support for the Western Balkans in particular in the fight against people smuggling "directly impacts on the logistics and profits of organised smuggling gangs, and reduces the threat they pose to the UK."
The meeting is symbolically taking place at Hillsborough Castle where in 1998 the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland signed the Good Friday Agreement, or Belfast Agreement, which largely ended the Northern Ireland conflict.
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