Culture and Information Committee Members and MPs Meet with Belarusian National Assembly Upper House Member

In the course of the meeting, the officials paid special attention to the participation of the Republic of Serbia in the upcoming festival in Belarus, as well as further improving cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Lapitsky stressed that the "Slavianski Bazaar" is one of the most important international cultural events in the region and that last year it brought together around 7,000 exhibitors from 44 countries, while the exhibition and accompanying programmes were visited by approximately 400,000 visitors, which clearly speaks of its reputation and reach. The Serbian side expressed satisfaction with the cooperation with Belarusian partners so far and emphasised the readiness of the Republic of Serbia to continue to actively participate in this prestigious event in the future.

Culture and Information Committee Deputy Chairperson and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Dunja Simonovic Bratic underlined the importance of the strong friendly ties between the two countries, and reminded that Serbia does not discuss Belarus' internal political issues within international organisations. She expressed satisfaction that these ties are being further strengthened through cultural exchange and initiatives.

The participants of the meeting were unanimous in their view that Belarus is an important and reliable partner to the Republic of Serbia, despite the existing sanctions, expressing hope that they will soon be lifted in order to enable the unhindered further development of bilateral relations.

The talks also focused on the need to continue strengthening cooperation, based on the sincere friendly relations and a shared historical heritage, primarily in the areas of culture, education and economy. In this context, the officials expressed support for the initiative to set up a direct flight between Belarus and Serbia, which would significantly contribute to connecting the two countries.

The Belarusian Ambassador to Serbia, Siarhei Malinouski, pointed out the importance of the good, continuous and meaningful cooperation between the two countries' parliaments and institutions, particularly emphasising the importance of further developing parliamentary cooperation and regular dialogue.

MPs Ivan Karic, Jadranka Jovanovic, Bojan Torbica, Djordje Komlenski, Dragoman Stanojevic, Lepomir Ivkovic and Dijana Radovic also attended the meeting and actively participated in the discussion. They expressed their satisfaction that the Republic of Serbia has the opportunity to present itself at the festival and confirmed their readiness to actively contribute to the country's participation in this event.

Ahead of the meeting, the Belarusian delegation, accompanied by the MPs, visited the "Jasenovac" exhibition in the central hall of the National Assembly House, where both sides underlined their commitment to preserving the culture of remembrance of the many Serbian and Belarusian victims who died in World War II, as an important foundation for mutual understanding, respect and future cooperation.