The National Assembly House hosted the conference "Belgrade Strategic Dialogue: Serbia - United States - Israel Partnership" organised by the Serbian-American Friendship Congress.
At the beginning of the gathering the attending were addressed by the President of the Serbian-American Friendship Congress and former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Prof. Dr Vladimir Marinkovic, who highlighted the strong ties between the three countries.
National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabic who also had opening remarks, stressed that Serbia will continue to pursue a balanced and responsible foreign policy aimed at preserving national interests, respecting international law, positioning itself to ensure safety and security for citizens, and building bridges of cooperation with all partners, regardless of the complex geopolitical challenges surrounding the region and the world.
"We will continue to promote dialogue and respect for diversity, because we firmly believe that these are the foundations of stability, peace and prosperity both in our region and beyond," stressed the National Assembly Speaker.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana addressed the gathering via video message, saying that last week he had the pleasure of hosting the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabic and that the visit strengthened the already strong ties between Serbia and Israel.
At the first panel “Serbia - United States - Israel Partnership", Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, Israeli Ambassador to Serbia Avivit Bar-Ilan and Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council Ilan Berman spoke about the numerous projects the states cooperate on and share joint values and interests.
National Assembly Deputy Speaker and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson Marina Ragus also spoke at the first panel, focusing on the key role parliamentary diplomacy played the development of the strategic dialogue and partnership, noting that the trilateral relations have entered a new phase.
She expressed her desire to ensure a lasting, just and sustainable peace in the Middle East, primarily because of the people who are dying on all sides.
Ragus reminded those present that in the last decades of the last century, the Serbian people were the first to face radical Islam and terrorist attacks, and pointed out that at that time we were alone in defending the right to truth and to life.
She also said that our people fought against terrorism in Kosovo-Metohija, emphasising that Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija were denied human and civil rights.
At the first panel “Partnership of Serbia Israel and the USA in combating antisemitism”, the attending were addressed by Milovan Drecun, Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the State of Israel. He emphasised that Israel wants improved relations with Serbia, which was also demonstrated during the National Assembly Speaker’s recent visit to Israel. He also took the opportunity to address the challenges in the cooperation between the two countries, such as Israel's recognition of so-called Kosovo, which, as he stated, caused a negative reaction among Serbian citizens, which resulted in an increase in the level of antisemitism in our country. He added that Serbia expects that Israel will reconsider its decision in the coming period and that the two countries have very close cooperation, which is developing into a strategic friendship.
He concluded that antisemitism is not deeply rooted in Serbian society and that strengthening bilateral relations reduces anti-Israeli and anti-American narratives.
In addition to the Head of the PFG with the State of Israel, the attending were also addressed by the Minister of European Integration and Head of the Delegation of the Republic of Serbia to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Nemanja Starovic, Director of Communications at the Britain-Israel Communications and Research Centre Daniel Ritterband, and the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Serbia in the State of Israel Aleksandar Nikolic.
