Serbia hopes more contries join railway construction deal

BELGRADE - Serbia has a ready project for the upcoming meeting of heads of government from China and Central, Eastern European countries, which is reconstruction of the railway from Belgrade to Budapest, Hungary, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference Dacic said that China is ready to invest in the region and that Serbia and Hungary might use the favorable lending conditions to reconstruct the 370 kilometers long railway line between their capitals.

"I hope that our PM Aleksandar Vucic, Hungarian PM Victor Orban and China will reach an agreement to modernize the railway. Our wish is that more countries join the project and extend the railway further on," Dacic said.

Dacic explained that the three countries work on the agreement, that the "negotiations are on-going, but with our wish to include more countries."

"Some countries are in a dilemma whether or not to accept this deal, some are afraid what will be reaction of Brussels, but we don't need to be afraid as EU is the biggest economic partner of China," he said.

Speaking about the meeting that will take place from Dec 16 to 17 in Belgrade, Dacic said that it will be one of the largest multilateral meetings in decades that will gather governments of China, Serbia, and 15 more countries from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as guests.

"This is a great responsibility for our country, and I think that the event will be of a great significance not only for our region, but for the whole Europe," he concluded, adding that the high officials of the EU are also among the guests.