STORY: Participation in BRI boosts Serbia's overall development: minister
SHOOTING TIME: May 3, 2024
DATELINE: May 6, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:53
LOCATION: Belgrade
CATEGORY: POLITICS/ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE (Serbian): GORAN VESIC, Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure
2. various of Serbia and China

STORYLINE:

Participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has enabled Serbia to cooperate with China on developing its transport infrastructure and boosted Serbia's overall development, a Serbian minister has said.

According to Goran Vesic, Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure, Serbian officials are impressed by China's development in its transport infrastructure, seeing it as a model for economic growth that Serbia seeks to emulate.

The minister said the Budapest-Belgrade railway, a flagship BRI project, is one example.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Serbian): GORAN VESIC, Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure
"China, Hungary, and Serbia are involved in this project (the Budapest-Belgrade railway), and it will enable our two capital cities, Belgrade and Budapest, to be connected by a high-speed railway that will cut travel time to less than three hours.
If you want to see what concrete results of this initiative look like, this is one great result in Europe.
In the meantime, we have included North Macedonia and Greece in that project, so that the railway that is now being built through Serbia and Hungary will eventually connect Athens with Budapest."

Vesic also highlighted the significance of a free trade agreement between the two countries that was signed last year.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Serbian): GORAN VESIC, Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure
"It offers an opportunity for our businessmen to direct their production in this way to tap into the Chinese market's competitiveness."

Vesic expressed Serbia's interest in adopting smart, environmentally sustainable infrastructure and electric vehicles, envisioning cooperation with China in these fields.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Serbian): GORAN VESIC, Serbia's Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure
"We need more artificial intelligence and robotics. That's why we are working on the Serbian-Chinese Science and Technology Park in Borca. We want more such Chinese companies, and we want to cooperate with China precisely where it becomes a leader in the world."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Belgrade.
(XHTV)