"We can all stand under one Serbian red and white flag," said Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic, at a ceremony marking the Day of Serbian Unity in the Bosnian town of Bijeljina and the start of the construction of the section of the highway from Bijeljina to Raca on Thursday.

In his address, he spoke about the significance of Serbia’s investment in the highway, especially at a time of inflation.

“Thus, we connect Brcko, Modrica, Novi Grad, Kostajnica, Prnjavor and all other places with the capital of Serbia. We will finish our Kuzmin-Raca road section in a year. The bridge is already done. I hope that this will happen in two or three years. It is not easy to work now, the prices of construction materials are high. This will mean life for Semberia. I hope that some people will accept the idea of the Open Balkans initiative and that we will be able to go towards each other without borders,” Vucic said.

He made a request to officials at the ceremony, saying that talks should be held with Bosniak representatives in order to build a highway to Tuzla, but also to Sarajevo.

“When you finish what is important to you in Banja Luka, I ask you to talk to the Bosniaks and that we build a highway or expressway to Tuzla, and then to Sarajevo. I hope that some people will want it,” said Vucic.

Vucic stressed the construction of roads as a priority for all citizens.

He then spoke about the relationship between Serbia and Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity.

“If you only knew how much we love Republika Srpska and how much it means to us, regardless of how much we respect Bosnia and Herzegovina and all others,” Vucic said, adding that those in power and those in the opposition, both Serbia and the RS, observe the Day of Serbian Unity as a holiday.

“When it comes to freedom, nothing can divide Serbia and RS,” he said.

“We can all stand under one Serbian red and white flag,” Vucic added.

RS entity President, Zeljka Svijanovic, said that building roads represents an effort to build good relations with everyone in the region.

“This is a big day for Republika Srpska. We gathered to honour Bijeljina and Raca, Semberija and Srem, RS and Serbia. This modern road is a symbol of our national unity and better relations between the RS and Serbia. Our cooperation is not to anyone's detriment. It is to the benefit of all peoples, above all the peoples of BiH and Serbia, but also much more widely. By building roads, we want to build good relations with everyone in the region,” she said.