“Diaspora can be a firm bridge of friendship between the people, as evidenced in the ample Greek diaspora in Serbia and Serbian diaspora in Greece”, said the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister, conveying to the members of the Committee on the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region their Greek counterparts’ invitation to exchange delegations in the coming period.

Committee Chairman MA Ivan Kostic said that the exchange of experiences with Greek colleagues would be very useful in view of the size of the Greek diaspora and its influence on developments in Greece.

“We know how abundant Greek diaspora is in the world and how much it has invested in its country’s economic development, and we want to hear these positive experiences and apply them in our own country”, said Kostic.

He stated that the Greek minority in Serbia has been recognised as a national minority and a great many Greek societies in Serbia are working on the promotion of overall relations between the two countries, adding that he is sad that the Serbian diaspora in Greece is not organised in a serious society of some kind.

The Greek consistent stance of non-recognition of the independence of Kosovo was reaffirmed and Deputy Minister Quick said Greece said he appreciated the fact that Serbia would name the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in line with the UN decision in its official documents.

Committee member Jadranka Jovanovic applauded the initiative to strengthen cooperation between the Serbian and Greek diaspora in the world, opining that they have better cooperation on distant continents than Serbs and Greeks do as close nations.

Committee Deputy Chairman Miodrag Linta said that Serbia expects Greece to vote against Kosovo’s possible repeat bid for UNESCO membership.