The Republic of Srpska and Serbia will work on strengthening ties with the diaspora and trust in institutions, and great importance is attached to joint work on preserving the language, tradition and cultural identity of emigrants, and encouraging cooperation through the exchange of experiences, knowledge and resources, said the Ministry of European Integration and International Cooperation of Srpska.

Commenting on the Information on the drafting of a new cooperation memorandum between the governments of Srpska and Serbia, which was adopted by the Government of Srpska on 16 May, the Ministry states that the Memorandum defines priorities whose implementation will contribute to strengthening ties with the diaspora.

‘All activities will be based on Serbia and Srpska working on strengthening ties with the diaspora around the world, and strengthening the diaspora’s trust in the institutions,’ added the line ministry.

The Ministry of European Integration and International Cooperation reminds that cooperation between Serbia and Srpska on the diaspora is implied primarily due to the fact that they share the same language, culture and tradition.

The sector says that diaspora in the receiving countries is organized mainly on the principles of belonging to a people, i.e. shared cultural characteristics, while there is interest to maintain the connection with emigrants and work on strengthening the diaspora’s relationship with institutions, local self-government units and society in general.

According to them, one of the ways to strengthen cooperation is having specific institutions in charge of the diaspora, so both Srpska and Serbia have a diaspora contact point with all the relevant responsibilities.

‘It is necessary to strengthen awareness among the domestic public about the importance and potential of the diaspora, which can be achieved by organizing various conferences and events to present good examples of cooperation, and participation of local self-government units is also required as they can develop ties with homeland associations in the diaspora,’ the Ministry said.

The sector added that there were already examples of significant investments from the diaspora in the local communities of emigrants’ origin.

In order to enable planning activities, Srpska and Serbia will work on establishing compatible databases, i.e. records on the diaspora, which will include data such as qualifications, expertise, willingness to invest in starting a business or to become involved actively in relevant projects.

In parallel with these activities, work will be done on supporting the building of a functional network of all organizations and associations in the diaspora to enable a better insight in the representation of the diaspora and goals and plans of various associations.

‘Srpska and Serbia will work on achieving priorities from the Memorandum by jointly implementing projects aimed at improving relations with the diaspora and joint participation in international and regional projects in this field,’ said the line ministry.

It is also of great importance to work together on preserving the language, tradition and cultural identity of emigrants, and to encourage cooperation through the exchange of experiences, knowledge and resources.

The Ministry of European Integration and International Cooperation and office of the minister without portfolio in the Serbian Government in charge of coordinating measures in the area of the diaspora have agreed to adopt a new Memorandum on cooperation in the field of strengthening ties with the diaspora, announced earlier the Public Relations Office of the Government of Serbia.

A working group consisting of representatives of both institutions analyzed the 2013 Memorandum, defined priorities in this field and submitted the integral text to the governments for adoption.

Source and photo: SRNA