PM Ciolos met his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic în Timisoara
Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said Thursday in western Timisoara that a feasibility study will be released in the period immediately ahead on both sides of the Romanian-Serbian border to see whether or not a motorway linking the city to Belgrade, Serbia's capital city, is feasible.
''We will clearly have to think in a structured manner about the interconnection between Romania and Serbia in the future in terms of infrastructure. I have discussed with the Serbian prime minister also what we can do in the future. We have a transportation master plan already approved, but, unfortunately, does not currently provide for a linking motorway to Belgrade, but it provides for a national road on the Serbian side. We will look into the possibility of perhaps adjusting things to the extent that the feasibility study we want to release for both sides of the border in the period immediately ahead shows us that a motorway is justified,'' Ciolos told a joint news conference with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.
Ciolos and Vucic met on Thursday at Timis Prefecture to attend the signing of several joint cooperation projects.
''We wanted to provide a signal that the relationship between Romania and Serbia is a long lasting, consistent one that exceeds the tenure of governments and political hues. Serbia is more than just an old friend of Romania's; we have both reached the conclusion today that Serbia and Romania have potentials and they should become economic partners as well in the future with consistency in the future,'' said Ciolos.
He added that also discussed at their meetings were prospects for economic cooperation, given the positive economic developments in Romania and Serbia alike. ''There is a potential here that is insufficiently tapped into,'' said Ciolos.
A first protocol was signed between Romania's Interior Ministry and Serbia's Interior Ministry, and it regards setting up joint patrolling teams for the two countries' common borders. Signing the document was Romanian Interior Minister Dragos Tudorache and his Serbian counterpart Neboisa Stefanovici.
A second document signed is a joint declaration on Romania's support for Serbia's European integration initialled by Romania's Foreign Minister Lazar and Serbia's Minister-delegate for European Affairs Iadranka Ioksimovic.
The third document was a joint declaration on labour cooperation and social policies signed by Romania's Minister of Labour, Family Affairs, Social Protection and the Elderly Dragos Paslaru and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vulin.