Belgrade, 24 November 2021 (MIA) — Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama and the US Special Representative for the Western Balkans, Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar, took part in the hybrid conference "Open Balkans: Road to Stabilization, Cooperation and Prosperity of the Region" held in the Serbian Parliament on Wednesday. According to MIA’s Belgrade correspondent, Deputy PM Dimitrov said his experience in bilateral disputes had taught him that the skill in overcoming open issues in the region was to turn divergent positions into convergent interests. Dimitrov added that the key to a stronger Western Balkan region was inclusion and integration, and the "Open Balkans" initiative, he stressed, as its name suggests, had exactly that purpose. “We live in a region that has been tangled into history for too long and, as the case of my country shows, these issues can cause a total stalemate on the European path,” Dimitrov said in his video address. “We need to build a strategy of becoming closer by sending a message that we are a region that delivers solutions instead of problems, that we are future-oriented instead of stuck in the past," he added. Regional cooperation within the "Open Balkans" initiative was not an alternative to European integration, he said, but it was aimed at bringing the countries closer to the EU. “However, the effect of the delay has strongly impacted our domestic politics and has made it even more challenging to maintain the European course,” Dimitrov said. "Even without accession negotiations or with their slowing down in terms of approaching the EU, we still need to continue working toward achieving European standards and values.” Regarding other countries joining in the initiative, Dimitrov said the whole region suffered from an ”implementation syndrome.” “This question of convincing others, I think two words that can be used to do that: successful results. The more results we achieve, the more obvious it will become for others it is worthwhile to join. For it to be successful, and I think Mr. Escobar made that point clear, this initiative has to remain open, and be open to everyone interested,” Dimitrov said. mr/