Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a panel of the conference "The World After Coronavirus" in Belgrade, Serbia, May 29, 2020. Officials attending the opening panel of an international conference here on Friday have agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic will change international relations. (Chinese medical expert team to Serbia/Handout via Xinhua)
BELGRADE, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Officials attending the opening panel of an international conference here on Friday have agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic will change international relations.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who attended the panel of the conference titled "The World After Coronavirus," said that "drastic and dramatic" changes have occurred over the past several months in global geopolitical and economic landscapes.
When it comes to the economic impact of COVID-19, two countries -- Germany and China -- are "coming out of the pandemic with new strength," Vucic said, adding that China was the first to overcome the crisis and confirmed its key role in the globalization process.
Meanwhile, the United States has been further entrenched in protectionism, he said.
Vucic reiterated that while Serbia plans to continue along its path towards full-scale European Union (EU) membership, it will not turn against countries that have helped it fight COVID-19, including Russia, China and the United States.
Apart from leading officials from Serbia, Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo and Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko also attended the panel.
The conference, organized by the Belgrade Strategic Dialogue foundation, gathered high-ranking officials and experts for discussions on geopolitics, economy, healthcare and many other aspects of the post-coronavirus world.
