3 Western Balkan countries deepen economic ties at summit

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The leaders of Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia have met in Tirana to discuss and agree on furthering their Open Balkan initiative to promote political and economic ties. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Tuesday hosted the meeting with Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. The Open Balkan summit has been part of the Berlin Process cooperation initiated from European Union member countries to promote regional development. The Western Balkan countries are at different stages on the path to EU membership. Recent factors that delayed their progress include the bloc’s stalled interest in enlargement and years of diplomatic turmoil over Brexit.