24 November 2017

LECTURE OF H.E. DENIS KEEFE, AMBASSADOR OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AT DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY

On the occasion of the 180^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, H.E. Denis Keefe, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Republic of Serbia gave a lecture to students of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia.

After his initial remarks, Ambassador Keefe gave a historical background to the present cooperation, common interests and values that had characterized bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries for almost two centuries.

The Ambassador reviewed current bilateral relations between the UK and the Republic of Serbia and pointed to the Embassy's activities in terms of support that the UK gives to Serbia along its path to EU integration, reforms and modernization of the state administration and e-government as well as to other forms of cooperation.

After the lecture, Ambassador Keefe answered many questions asked by the students of the Diplomatic Academy which were mostly related to the UK's foreign policy following the Brexit.

16 November 2017

STUDENTS FROM AMERICAN UNIVERSITY'S BRUSSELS CENTRE VISIT MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

A group of students from the American University's Brussels Centre, headed by Professor Jerome Sheridan, visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, in the context of their traditional study visit to Belgrade.

On the occasion, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Branimir Filipovic, Head of the Department for EU Institutions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aleksandar Knezevic and Deputy Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Dusan Kozarev held relevant lectures and took numerous questions from the guest students.

In the context of a lecture titled "Serbia on the Path Towards Full EU Membership", Head of the Department for EU Institutions Aleksandar Knezevic brought the students up to date on the course of Serbia's EU integration process, from the very launch to the present day, and on the chapters of the acquis opened so far, against the backdrop of the current socio-political developments in Europe and beyond, and the challenges facing the EU today.

Deputy Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Dusan Kozarev held a lecture titled "Situation in Kosovo and Metohija – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", familiarizing those present with the mandate of the Office, with its organizational structure and the activities aimed at assisting the Serbs in the Southern Serbian Province, and about the ongoing dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. In his lecture, Mr. Kozarev also spoke about the etymology behind the name of the Province of Kosovo and Metohija and the historical and cultural heritage in the area.

Ambassador Branimir Filipovic rounded off the set of lectures intended for the US students by giving a lecture titled "Foreign Policy Priorities of the Republic of Serbia in the Security Policy Sector". He presented the goals of Serbia's security policy in the context of foreign policy, international cooperation and challenges facing it in this field. The Ambassador particularly recalled Serbia's participation in the PfP programme, and SAF participation in the peacekeeping operations mandated by the United Nations and the European Union.

10 October 2017

Official ceremony of Diplomatic Academy diploma awards for the 2016/17 class

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic opened today, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ceremony of Diplomatic Academy diploma awards for the 2016/17 class, which completed the Academy's Basic Diplomatic Training programme, welcoming at the same time - in his opening statement - the new generation that will undergo professional training at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



Addressing the audience, the Minister highlighted the foreign policy goals and activities of the Republic of Serbia within the framework of international cooperation on bilateral and multilateral levels, laying particular emphasis on the foreign policy priorities, including Serbia's full EU membership, regional stability and security, strengthening good-neighbourly relations, as well as preservation of the territorial integrity of the country as a whole.



Following is the integral text of the address by Minister Dacic.

"Dear participants of the Diplomatic Academy's training programme,

Professors and colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to address, this year again, another generation which has successfully completed the 2016/17 training at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I would like to congratulate you on your performance, confident that the knowledge and experience gained will be appropriately used in your further professional careers.

I particularly wish to point out that in this generation, trainee Goran Markovic from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has completed the programme with a grade point average of "10". I congratulate Goran, commending him for his achievement, with the belief and expectation that his knowledge will be applied in practice, in the best possible way.

It is also my distinct pleasure and duty to take this opportunity to welcome the in-coming generation, wishing them every success in the activities ahead, underlining that all doors of the Ministry will always be open to them for any question or dilemma they may have.

I further wish to draw your attention to the fact that the diplomatic profession is a privilege, for it opens new horizons to every diplomat, throughout his/her career, by way of travel, learning about other states, peoples and cultures, attending ceremonies, diplomatic functions, etc. However, more than anything else, it is a privilege because only a small number of the selected will have the honour to best demonstrate - especially through the opportunities created by diplomacy - their appreciation of their own country, to present its advantages, and just as competently, to explain its disadvantages as well, bearing in mind, in each and every situation, that there is no alternative to protecting the interests of the home country.

Although there is no doubt that what I said has an emotional dimension, the fact is that every diplomat, including myself as Minister, bears this in mind in daily professional engagements, when talking with foreign officials, participating in international meetings, addressing major international events where it is necessary to explain, clearly and with resolve, the position of Serbia, that is, what it can, will and is ready to do on the international level, but also to underline that Serbia has its "red lines" which cannot be crossed.

The Republic of Serbia has its clearly defined foreign policy priorities, carried out by its diplomatic service. Guided by the principle of preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity and national stability, we are actively involved in strengthening our bilateral relations with all the countries across the world, attaching particular significance to the stabilization and promotion of relations with our neighbours, major international partners, such as Russia, China, USA, EU, etc. We attach great importance to our good relations with the countries of the African continent, as well as Latin American and Arab states. In this context, I would like to underline that I have just returned from my visit to Iraq, a country which has been and continues to be an important partner of Serbia, and where Serbia continues to be looked upon with great respect.

I wish to point out that, by pursuing its current foreign policy, Serbia has enhanced its reputation and importance on regional, European and international levels. Serbia has been able to establish itself as a reliable and constructive partner, through its approach and active involvement in this delicate part of the European continent - the Western Balkans and South Eastern Europe and, by confirming on many occasions its response to challenges that are, nowadays, as you know, so many in the region.

As you are aware, full EU membership is one of our major foreign policy priorities, which we see also as a strong inspiration for the implementation of our comprehensive reforms, and an encouragement of our efforts aimed at reconciliation, strengthening of mutual confidence and relations with other states on partner basis.

I know that you will be extensively and highly competently informed about all that I have only briefly referred to, in the programme that you will undergo at the Diplomatic Academy. Therefore, I wish to take this opportunity to thank all our former and future lecturers who will bring to your attention all the necessary skills and information, important and specific for the diplomatic profession. I also believe that the new generation which will participate in the Academy's programme, including the participants from this Ministry, will be enriched by new knowledge and experience.

Thank you all, once again, for your attention, and I wish you good luck and success in your programme."

12 September 2017

LECTURE BY PERMANENT UNDER-SECRETARY AND HEAD OF THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE AT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE, AMBASSADOR SIMON MCDONALD

Permanent Under-Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Ambassador Simon McDonald held a lecture "Diplomacy 2020" at the Diplomatic Academy of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After an introduction by the MFA State Secretary, Mr. Nemanja Stevanovic, Ambassador McDonald, as architect of the programme "Diplomacy 2020", presented to the diplomatic staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the project preparing the United Kingdom for a new, digital age of diplomacy. The realization of the project should, owing to three pillars and clearly set tasks, contribute to the FCO's organizational reform, better management of the Foreign Service and to the development of necessary skills of the staff to use an IT platform to make it efficient, rapid and in line with the demands of British society.

31 May 2017

FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA YU MYUNG-HWAN GIVES A LECTURE

Former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Yu Myung-hwan held a lecture at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia. The lecture was given to the attendees of the Basic Curriculum of the Foreign Service Training.

H. E. Yu Myung-hwan presented the main goals of the Republic of Korea's foreign policy and the challenges facing it. In his lecture, the former Foreign Minister introduced the trainees with the situation in the Korean Peninsula, pointing, in the broader context, to the interests of the great powers in that region.

The lecture took place on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation signed between the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

11 May 2017

AMBASSADOR SLOBODAN VUKCEVIC HOLDS A LECTURE FOR THE US CLEMSON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized two more lectures about the foreign-policy priorities of the Republic of Serbia and about its bilateral relations for Clemson University students from the United States.

During the interactive lecture, the Head of the Department for Neighbouring Countries and SEE, Ambassador Slobodan Vukcevic spoke about the bilateral relations with the neighbouring states and with the states of the region.

Mr. Lazar Manojlovic, Head of the Department for North and South America, gave a historical overview of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Serbia and the United States of America.

08 May 2017

MINISTER DACIC DELIVERS A LECTURE TO ATTENDEES OF THE DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIENNA AND STUDENTS OF CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic held today a lecture to the attendees of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and the students of international relations at Clemson University, who visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, as part of traditional study visits to the Western Balkan countries.

Minister Dacic introduced the priorities of the foreign policy of the Republic of Serbia to the students. The Head of Serbian diplomacy underlined in particular that Serbia was firmly committed to, by taking an active diplomatic approach, working on the preservation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, continuation of its European path pending full membership and the stabilization of the situation in the Western Balkan region.

The Minister pointed out that Serbia was a credible partner, that it had the capacity to have a realistic look at the developments in the international relations and that it pragmatically approached resolving problems in cooperation with partner countries, which was demonstrated in particular during the migrant crisis.

As he pointed to certain historical projects being revived with the aim of creating new national borders in the Balkans, the Serbian Foreign Minister warned that this could pose a challenge of largest proportions and that such ideas should be put where they belong – in the past, aiming for cooperation and progress instead, to the benefit of citizens of the whole region.

The integral version of the speech by the Serbian Foreign Minister gave the students can be found here.


5 May 2017

LECTURE BY AMBASSADOR OF PORTUGAL, H.E. AUGUSTO SARAIVA PEIXOTO, AT THE DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY

The series of lectures by foreign Ambassadors, held within the course "International Relations and Foreign Policy of the Republic of Serbia", part of the Basic Diplomatic Training Program, was finished with the lecture by the Ambassador of Portugal, H.E. Augusto Saraiva Peixoto, who spoke on "Bilateral Relations of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Portugal".

Ambassador A. S. Peixoto focused his presentation on the experience Portugal went through during its accession to the European Union, providing a wider overview of the historical events that preceded this process.

He pointed to the good bilateral relations between R. Serbia and R. Portugal, reflected in the meetings of senior officials and the firm support provided by Portugal to the negotiations conducted by R. Serbia in the European integration process.

After the lecture, Ambassador took some questions from the attendees of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


5 April 2017

LECTURE BY US AMBASSADOR, H.E. KYLE SCOTT, AT THE DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY

Following the series of lectures by foreign Ambassadors, students of the Diplomatic Academy had an opportunity to hear a presentation by H.E. Kyle Scott, Ambassador of the United States of America, entitled "US foreign policy after the election of Donald Trump: the Approach of the new US Administration to the Western Balkans".

Explaining the current American position on world developments, Ambassador Scott stressed that support for democratic development, economic cooperation and Euro-Atlantic integration in the Western Balkans region, as well as key foreign policy positions will be based on the principles followed thus far. In addition, the role played by Serbia in the region, primarily in the preservation of peace and stability, was estimated as very important.

Ambassador Scott pointed out that the United States wanted to develop bilateral relations with our country and singled out as the most important elements of our relations, among other things, US support for Serbia's European path, Brussels dialogue, economic partnership and investments, working together in the fight against terrorism and resolving humanitarian problems, as well as in institution building and improvement.

3 April 2017

BRUSSELS-BASED AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS VISIT THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

On their traditional study visit to Belgrade, Professor Jerome Sheridan and a group of students from the American University's Brussels Centre visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia.

Prof Dr Tanja Miscevic, Head of the negotiating team for negotiations on the accession of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union, gave a lecture to students about the process of the Republic of Serbia's EU accession, pointing out the necessary reform steps in the fields of legislation, administrative preparedness of state institutions and civil society in order to successfully go through the negotiating process as well as during the opening of certain negotiating chapters on the road to full membership.

Ambassador Branimir Filipovic, Acting Assistant Minister for Security Policy, talked about the participation of R. Serbia in regional and international military-security organizations, as well as about security challenges.

The third topic was Kosovo and Metohija and the process of normalizing the relations with Pristina, spoken by Mr Dušan Kozarev, Deputy Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija.

30 March 2017

LECTURE BY HUNGARIAN AMBASSADOR H.E. Mr. ATTILA PINTÉR HELD AT THE DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY

On the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and the Republic of Serbia, H.E. Mr. Attila Pintér, the Ambassador of Hungary to the Republic of Serbia, held a lecture at the Diplomatic Academy.

Presenting as being on a very high level the bilateral relations between our countries, with no open issues, Ambassador Pintér familiarized the attendees with the concept this cooperation was based upon, noting that it was best illustrated by the joint sessions of the two Governments, as well as by numerous visits exchanged between the two countries' high officials.

Ambassador Pintér also spoke about the economic cooperation having increased in terms of all parameters, major Hungarian companies taking part in the Serbian economy and about further development of infrastructure connectivity, as well as investments in rail and inland water transport infrastructure aiming to promote the environment for economic/business operations.

Furthermore, the Ambassador pointed to the exceptional importance of the status of minorities in both countries as well as, in this regard, to the high level of participation of representatives of the Hungarian community in political life in the Republic of Serbia, as another indicator that the bilateral relations between our two countries were very good.

22 March 2017

GERMAN AMBASSADOR H. E. MR. AXEL DITTMANN DELIVERS A LECTURE AT THE DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY

Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany H. E. Mr. Axel Dittmann delivered a lecture to the attendees of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, on 22 March 2017, the topic being "Bilateral Relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Serbia", within the "International Relations and Foreign Policy of the Republic of Serbia" course.

After the introductory remarks, Ambassador Axel Dittmann started his lecture by familiarizing the attendees with the place and the role of the European Union at the international level, and by underlining the support that the Federal Republic of Germany lent to the Republic of Serbia in its European integration process.

Furthermore, Ambassador A. Dittmann pointed to the good bilateral relations between our two countries, as well as to the solid economic ties confirmed by the growing interest of German companies in investing in Serbia. Moreover, the Ambassador touched on the importance of the visits exchanged at the highest level, and the visits of delegations from different domains -parliamentary, regional and those that take place owing to German foundations, which has overall had a positive impact on cooperation between the two countries. In this context, the Ambassador singled out cultural cooperation as another indispensable factor of bilateral relations.

The Ambassador also spoke about the migrant crisis and regional relations, highlighting the overall cooperation demonstrated by Serbia.

After the lecture, Ambassador Dittmann took many questions from the DA attendees, concerning economic cooperation, Serbia's European integration, regional relations, etc.


16 March 2017

YALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS VISIT THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

A group of students attending the Yale School of Management (United States) visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, on 16 March 2017, in the context of their study visit to the region. The visit to Serbia has been organized for the second time in a row.

On the occasion, the MFA Diplomatic Academy organized special lectures held by Assistant Ministers, Ambassador Goran Aleksic and Ambassador Marina Jovicevic.

Assistant Minister, Ambassador Goran Aleksic briefly spoke to the students about the historical development of bilateral relations between the Republic of Serbia and the United States of America, with focus on the current situation and the positioning of the United States in the Balkans.

Assistant Foreign Minister, Ambassador Marina Jovicevic elaborated on the process of Serbia's progress towards the European Union, the dynamic of opening the negotiating chapters and the challenges faced along the way.

After the interactive lectures, the students posed numerous questions.


16 March 2017

AMBASSADOR OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA H.E. LI MANCHANG DELIVERED A LECTURE AT THE DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY

The lecture of H.E. Li Manchang, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Serbia, entitled "PR of China and its relations with the Republic of Serbia" opened a series of lectures to be held by foreign Ambassadors for participants of the 2016/2017 Basic Diplomatic Training Programme.

In his introduction to the lecture, Ambassador Li Manchang highlighted the specific characteristics and complexity of the social and economic development of the PR of China, and its role on the international scene. He emphasized the key principles of Chinese internal and foreign policy, based on planned development, stability, respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty, and respect of the interests of other countries.

In a cordial atmosphere interwoven with the Ambassador's reflections on his student days in Belgrade, Ambassador Li Manchang drew attention to the historical importance and exchange of experience with the SFRY, the period of overture of the PR of China to the world and embracing of reforms which had, gradually, provided conditions for the country's continued economic progress.

Ambassador Li Manchang further assessed the current bilateral relations between the PR of China and the Republic of Serbia as exceptionally friendly, a proof of which are many agreements and projects constituting the foundation for the further development of cooperation, primarily in the economic area.

Responding to participant questions, Ambassador Li Manchang went on to give a positive example of operation of the Smederevo Steel Works, and underlined the importance of cooperation between the two countries in culture and education areas, indicating a rise in student exchange and regular upgrading of civil servant professional capacities, organized by Chinese institutions.