distinguished president biden esteemed heads of state and government ladies and gentlemen
it is my special honor and a pleasure to have the opportunity to address you today
at this event that i find to be extremely important for the further strengthening of
democratic values at a global level it is very positive that the united states has recognized the
need to organize such an event that promotes and reminds of the importance of democratic values at
a time when there is talk of a crisis of democracy our country has been making continuous efforts to
strengthen a democratic society in which all citizens enjoy equal rights and opportunities
to develop their own potential and participate in all aspects of social cultural political
and economic life we are committed to combating corruption strengthening human rights and we
are focused on achieving concrete results in this area both at a domestic and foreign policy levels
serbia is fully committed to european values democratic principles and the rule of law full
membership of the european union is our key foreign policy priority and therefore we are
making continuous efforts in our accession process to the european union which includes adopting the
best european practices and examples in areas such as the rule of law and anti-corruption
additionally we are preparing for the upcoming elections in the spring to ensure everyone's
voices are heard we reinstated the working group on elections mediated by the eu and have amended
laws to ensure political parties feel equal in the previous period we paid special attention
to achieving the best possible overall relations and cooperation in the region strengthening of
context and battery infrastructural connectivity are the starting point for a higher quality
of life for citizens which facilitates dialogue and respect for democratic values
in this spirit serbia has launched the open balkan initiative together with our friends from the
balkans which i'm convinced that by promoting the four freedoms of movement of people goods
capital and services creates conditions for the strengthening of all democratic values our guiding
principle is that no one should be left aside in the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms
therefore let me express my conviction that the summit for democracy is the right opportunity to
highlight the need for equal treatment of all peoples and religious groups in the region in
order to further strengthen stability in this part of europe which is a precondition for creating
an even more prosperous and future oriented western balkans serbia has also demonstrated the
contribution it makes to the rule of law and the strengthening of the democratic process through
results in a transparent approach achieved at the national level in the fight against corruption
and the strengthening of the rule of law let me also emphasize that our country is equally
committed to respecting minority rights which are legacy we are especially proud of in that
sense we remind you that our system of protection of minorities has received the highest praise
from a number of impartial international sources serbia is also the leader in the region when it
comes to gender equality the government of serbia is led by a female prime minister and consists
of almost 50 percent of women the post of heads of city and municipal administrations
are held by over 70 women and the judiciary 56 of public prosecutors are women in courts of
general jurisdiction there are 69 of women 69 of women and in courts of special jurisdiction 76.3
i'm also announcing a new initiative which i believe that the other leaders of the western
balkans also support together we need to accelerate inclusion for the roma we need
to invest in roma who are demographically vibrant entrepreneurial and multilingual but
this community has been the most excluded from prosperity and hardest during covet
19 crisis with every abuse of democratic principles we are only deceiving ourselves
thus humbling our own well-being in the first place this was especially highlighted by the
current pandemic reminding us that no one is immune to global threats
and that we must demonstrate that democracies are capable of rising to these common challenges
and delivering for our citizens serbia is ready to be a consistent and reliable partner
to the united states and to this end in the future as well many thanks for your attention