The Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI) is one of the most significant forms of regional cooperation, which enables engagement in security and integration processes, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic stated on Tuesday, opening a conference at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade.

Dacic recalled that the Ministry of Interior (MUP), he is at the head of, has been successfully cooperating with the MARRI regional center for many years now, and noted that joint projects have significantly contributed to the efficient work of MUP.

The fact that Serbia is chairing four regional initiatives - South-East European Cooperation Process, Central European Initiative, Adriatic-Ionian Initiative and MAARI forum - proves that the country is very active internationally this year, he said.

We are trying to meet the set criteria and realize all planned activities, but also to improve regional cooperation through this kind of forums as well. Serbia continually draws attention to priorities which include two extremely complex areas - human trafficking and legal migration, Dacic said.

As he specified, the country's priority is to intensify the activities in all areas through an integrated regional approach to the problem and the forming of a network of MAARI coordinators for combating human trafficking. Speaking of the second priority - regional migration, Dacic stressed that Serbia's efforts are directed towards a better management of legal migration flows.

"One of the most prominent issues the regional countries are faced with is an increase in the number of asylum seekers. This problem is immensely complex for Serbia, bearing in mind that the number of asylum seekers has drastically increased in the country and that, on the other hand, a great number of Serbian citizens have applied for asylum in the EU," he underlined.

Dacic insisted that a network for cooperation should be established among border police on international airport border crossing points in MARRI Member States (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Montengro), whose ministers are attending the conference, and pointed out the importance of commissions for monitoring the non-visa regime of traveling to the EU.

When it comes to asylum seekers in Serbia, the government adopted a proposal for measures with the aim to increase the capacity and provide better conditions for their acceptance.

Serbia will continue to carry out activities related to the cooperation network between MARRI Member States related to asylum, and we hope the cooperation will be intensified in order to exchange information which are useful for all the member states, Dacic concluded.