Serbian PM to make historic visit to Albania
Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will on Wednesday become the first Serbian government head to visit Albania, aiming to improve the fragile relations between the two Balkan nations, AFP reports.
His visit comes six months after that of Albania's Prime Minster Edi Rama to Belgrade -- the first visit to Serbia by a Tirana government head for 68 years.
In Tirana on Wednesday, Vucic will have talks with his counterpart before speaking the following day at an economic forum in which regional country leaders will participate.
Relations between Serbians and Albanians are strained over the question of Kosovo, a territory with an ethnic Albanian majority that declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with the support of the United States, but remains unrecognised by Belgrade and its ally Russia, as well as others.
Bilateral tensions have also been fuelled by claims of the ethnic Albanian minority in Serbia for more autonomy or even a unification with Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority.
"We want to deepen collaboration with Serbia and advance together on the path of peace, cooperation and integration in the EU," Rama told AFP ahead of the visit.