The head of the Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Greece, Jelena Jovanović, said that cooperation between the two nations, that is, the two countries, was not only characterized by economic exchange, but also featured other forms of collaboration founded on long-standing shared history, tradition, religion, etc.

– Although today we have good cooperation with some countries in terms of economic exchange, that cooperation stops when it comes to national issues and interests, such as the issues of Kosovo and Metohija and Republic of Srpska, where Greece is among the rare countries that always openly support us – says Jovanović.

She emphasizes that, although Greek-Serbian relations have been traditionally good, this does not exclude the need to constantly work on improving them.

According to her, that is the very reason why the Republic of Srpska Representation in Greece, despite the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that has burdened life on a global level, works intensively to promote Srpska’s cultural, economic and business potentials with a focus on the constitutional and legal position of the Republic of Srpska within BiH.

She reminds that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska, Radovan Višković, travelled to Greece in June for a working visit, where the Representation in cooperation with the Embassy of BiH in Greece organized a series of meetings with representatives of Greek institutions, as well as businessmen and business associations from Greece.

She notes that the successful cooperation with the city of Thessaloniki continues this year and that for the third consecutive year a free program of learning the Serbian language and culture has been organized for Greeks, where, in addition to learning the language, they have the opportunity to learn more about the Republic of Srpska and its creativity.

– These Serbian language classes were the very reason for a large number of Greeks deciding to visit our regions, but also continuing to study our language and culture – says Jovanović.

Concerning the second half of the year, Jovanović points out that, together with BiH Embassy in Athens and in cooperation with the Republic of Srpska Investment Development Bank, the Representative Office has ensured a presentation of the investment potentials of the Republic of Srpska at the Thessaloniki International Fair, to be held from 10 to 18 September this year.

She says that this is the largest international fair in this part of Europe, and its importance is illustrated by the fact that every year it is officially opened by the Greek Prime Minister.

– This year, the Republic of Srpska will have a stand at this fair and a possibility to present investment opportunities of Srpska’s capital projects to businessmen and organizations from Greece, but also to investors from other countries – explains Jovanović.

Jovanović says that this year again, in cooperation with the Tourism Organization of the Republic of Srpska, the Representation will ensure presence of the Republic of Srpska at the Philoxenia tourism fair in Thessaloniki, where Srpska’s tourism potentials will be presented to the Greek public, and where in 2019 the Memorandum on cooperation between the City of Thessaloniki Tourism Organization and Republic of Srpska Tourism Organization was signed in the presence of the Greek Minister of Tourism.

According to her, in the coming period, the Representation plans to support a visit by taekwondo athletes from Srpska for a camp, that is, for preparations with the Greek national team for the world and European championships.

– In cooperation with the National and Kapodistrian University in Athens and in cooperation with the Tourism Organization of the Republic of Srpska, the Representation will organize a study visit to the Republic of Srpska for students studying Serbian language and culture at the National and Kapodistrian University in Athens – says Jovanović.

She adds that during their stay the students will visit Banja Luka, Višegrad, Trebinje, etc. in order to learn more about the Republic of Srpska and our culture, but also to become acquainted with our constitutional setup.

With the beginning of the new school year or semester, according to Jovanović, the objective of the Representative Office is to organize a series of lectures, i.e. a scientific conference, in cooperation with the Republic Center for Research of War, War Crimes and Search for Missing Persons, to present the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Suffering of Serbs in Sarajevo between 1991 and 1995.

– The objective is to ensure that the reports and facts reach as many individuals as possible from the academic community, the media, the public and political representatives in the Hellenic Republic – concluded Jovanović.

Source: Glas Srpske-Srna

Photo: Srna