20 April 2021 The participants of the meeting

20 April 2021 The participants of the meeting

Tuesday, 20 April 2021

PFG with Israel Meets with Israeli Ambassador to Serbia

The Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Israel Prof. Dr Vladimir Marinkovic met today with Israeli Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Yahel Vilan to discuss the experiences in the fight against COVID-19 and potential economic cooperation.


Prof. Dr Vladimir Marinkovic informed the Ambassador that the 65 strong PFG with Israel is one of the biggest in the Serbian Parliament. Speaking about the global problem that is the pandemic caused by the corona virus, Marinkovic informed the Ambassador about the course of vaccination in Serbia and how the country is combating the pandemic.

Mentioning that Serbia has four types of vaccines, he said that it ranks first in Europe by the number of revaccinated citizens and is among the leading countries in terms of the total number of vaccinated citizens. Thanks to the leadership of the Republic of Serbia, two COVID hospitals were built in a short time and plans for the Torlak Institute to begin the production of the Sputnik vaccine are underway, while the construction of a new factory for the production of the Sinopharm vaccine is planned in cooperation with the UAE and China, said Marinkovic. Serbia is presented in the world as a leader in the region, which has seriously faced the Corona virus, as evidenced by the fact that citizens from the region had the opportunity to be vaccinated in Serbia.

Speaking of cooperation in the field of economy, the two countries should strengthen cooperation, especially as regards investments and Israeli companies should be motivated to invest in Serbia, Marinkovic stressed. He added that many countries face the challenge of how to continue economic development in the new circumstances caused by the pandemic and an exchange of experiences could be valuable for both countries.

The Head of the PFG with Serbia Boaz Toporovsky jointed in the meeting via a video link, pointing out the excellent relations between the two countries and the two nations’ alliance in the fight against fascism. He pointed out that there is room to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries and pointed out the successful cooperation in the field of energy. Boaz Toporovsky praised the upcoming opening of the Serbian economic office in Jerusalem, which will contribute to even better economic cooperation, which is the focus of bilateral relations.

Stressing how pleased he was with the visit to the National Assembly, Ambassador Yahel Vilan pointed out that our two peoples enjoy a long-standing traditional friendship. Speaking about the course of the fight against the pandemic, Ambassador Vilan emphasized the importance and positive results of the vaccination in Israel. He said that it is necessary to motivate young people to get vaccinated, because practice has shown that the British strain of the virus is increasingly affecting that part of the population.

Thanks to the successful mass vaccination, the citizens of Israel can return to normal life, said the Ambassador. He also informed the hosts that the State of Israel had set aside about 800 million USD for the purchase of vaccines.

The Ambassador went on to say that it is his honour to share the fact that these days Israel is celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the declaration of independence, with friends in the Serbian Parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy Prof. Dr Zorana Mihajlovic also spoke at the meeting, agreeing with the previous speakers that the two countries enjoy good political relations and that economic cooperation is on the rise. She said that in the period from 2012 to 2020, trade ranged from 40 to 82 million USD. Mihajlovic went on to say that she is especially proud of Israeli companies’ investments in the field of energy, drawing attention to the first wind power plant is connected to our transmission system, after more than 20 years. This investment is worth over 200 million EUR, said the Minister. She praised the energy system of the State of Israel, saying that Israel is one of the first countries to start the energy transition and adding that it is planned to have the complete electric power supply system be from renewable energy sources and natural gas by 2025. It is precisely because of this that it is necessary to exchange experiences in this area, since the Assembly is currently considering a set of energy laws, said Mihajlovic.

At the end of the meeting, the officials agreed that there is room to expand cooperation in the field of economy, energy and health. Also, Marinkovic agreed that it is vital to encourage the citizens to mass immunization, because that is the only way to return to normal life and habits.



Previous month Next month
M T W T F S S
26 27 28 29 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
friday, 29 march
  • 9.00 - the National Assembly Speaker meets with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia (National Assembly House, 13 Nikola Pasic Square, Speaker’s Cabinet)

Full event calendar