State Secretary Metelko-Zgombić attends 7th ministerial meeting of AII, EUSAIR

State Secretary for Europe Andreja Metelko-Zgombić on Monday participated in the 7th ministerial meeting of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative (AII) and the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region (EUSAIR), held as part of the 7th EUSAIR Forum. Also attending the meeting ahead of the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds was State Secretary Šime Erlić.
 
The meeting brought together high representatives from the 10 AII/EUSAIR member states: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, San Marino, Slovenia, and Serbia.
 
Addressing the event, Metelko-Zgombić underlined the importance of cooperation within the AII, which has been going on for as long as 22 years. She recalled that Croatia had presided over the Initiative three times so far, each time contributing to the strengthening of this type of regional cooperation format. She reiterated Croatia’s strong support for the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries.
 
Concerning EUSAIR, Metelko-Zgombić underscored the importance of linking the Strategy’s priorities with sources of funding for the 2021-2027 program period and called for an agreement on the future EUSAIR support structure. She also stressed the need to adapt the Strategy to the new priorities and challenges, proposing to incorporate into it a new thematic area on social issues. The participants adopted a joint declaration. This was the last event in Albania’s AII/EUSAIR presidency, which is to be taken over by Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 1 June 2022-31 May 2023 period.
 

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