(ANSA) - BELGRADE - Albania's President Ilir Meta is visiting Medvedja, one of the main towns of a region in southern Serbia where the majority of the population is ethnic Albanian. Local media reported that Meta launched an appeal to open a new phase in relations between Serbia and Albania, by strengthening co-operation and having the common goal of integration into the European Union.

The visit was decided with the assent of the Belgrade authorities, who are willing to take advantage of any opportunity to improve the status of minorities in Serbia. In Medvedja, Meta met with the Serbian government's representative of the region, Zoran Stankovic, and the mayor of the town, Nebojsa Arsic.

Ilir Meta is planning on Monday a visit to an Albanian-language school, before moving to neighbouring Kosovo, where he will meet with President Hashim Thaci. In Albania, meanwhile, a joint session of Albanian and Kosovar governments is scheduled on the occasion of Albania's national holiday to be celebrated on Tuesday. (ANSA).