On 19 February 2024, Deputy Director at Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade Ivona Lađevac, PhD, gave the lecture "Belt and Road in the Balkans" at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Banja Luka.
At the lecture organized by the Confucius Institute of the University of Banja Luka, Ivona Lađevac talked about the history and importance of the Belt and Road Initiative, the role of the Balkan countries in the Initiative, as well as its results in international relations and the global economy.
She emphasized the geopolitical importance of the Balkans for the People's Republic of China and its strategic goal of creating a cohesive economic area, greater political cooperation and cultural exchange. She further pointed to the fact that half of the Chinese funds within the Belt and Road Initiative, earmarked for Europe, were invested in the Balkans, most of which were in Serbia, and then in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly referring to infrastructure projects.
"During its ten years of existence, more than 150 countries, which are in various stages of economic development, have joined the Belt and Road Initiative, and more than 30 international institutions are its official partners, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and United Nations agencies.", Ivona Lađevac said.
She added that the total engagement within the Initiative has exceeded one billion dollars, but also that there are opportunities for improving economic relations and profitable investments in the Balkans, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina especially for improving cooperation in the fields of tourism and culture.
The comprehensive role of the Belt and Road Initiative is to connect all countries of the world and includes political cooperation, political dialogue, trade and investment, infrastructure construction, connectivity and cultural exchange. The Chinese government seeks to develop economic cooperation across land (the "Belt") and sea (the "Road") between China, the rest of Eurasia, and the world.
The lecture, which is the last event organized in honour of the Chinese New Year, was attended by deans, teaching staff and students of the University of Banja Luka.
About the lecturer
Ivona Lađevac, PhD, completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in international relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade, and obtained her doctorate at the Faculty of Security of the same university, defending her dissertation "Strategic Partnership of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China within Global Security Context". She completed her specialization in European studies and attended seminars on strengthening the capacity of public administration, labour migration in the Balkans, strengthening the capacity of cross-border cooperation, drafting proposals for EU scientific projects, as well as the United Nations summer school dedicated to the challenges of world peace and security in the new millennium. Her main areas of interest are contemporary international relations with reference to the relations between China and Russia, the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern Europe countries.
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