A delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia headed by the Chairman of the parliamentary Commission for Slovenes Abroad, Miro Petek, talked to the members of the Committee on Relations with Serbs Living Outside Serbia at the National Assembly House.

Committee Chairman Branimir Djokic briefed the delegation on the work of the Committee on Relations with Serbs Living Outside Serbia, stressing that the fact that the Committee comprises 25 deputies demonstrates that the National Assembly pays close attention to relations with the Serbian diaspora across the globe.

They also discussed the legal regulations ensuring the rights of the Slovenian ethnic minority in the Republic of Serbia, as well as the work of the Slovenian National Minority Council. The Committee members wanted to know if it was possible for Serbian citizens living in the Republic of Slovenia to gain status of ethnic minority in the country.

In the meeting, the officials shared experiences and opinions on the Committee’s and Commission’s work.

Delegation head Miro Petek thanked the Committee members for their hospitality. He informed the participants that the population of the Republic of Slovenia numbers about two million, and that about half a million Slovenes live abroad, about 6000 of them in the Republic of Serbia. Petek said that they enjoy excellent cooperation with the Slovenian National Minority Council and hoped that the cooperation with the Committee on Relations with Serbs Living Outside Serbia would intensify in the future.

In conversation with the members of the delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, meetings like this one and cooperation were deemed mutually beneficial and the establishment of long-term parliamentary relations was declared a common goal of both the Republic of Serbia and Republic of Slovenia.

In addition to Committee Chairman Branimir Djokic, the meeting was attended by Committee Deputy Chairman Aleksandar Cotric and Committee members Milorad Buha and Zeljko Tomic.