Visits by Foreign Delegations

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Visits by Foreign Delegations

 

2021

 

  • The Head of the St. Petersburg University of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, Lieutenant General Bogdan Vasiljevic Gavkaljuk and his associates presented a medal to the Niš City Mayor Dragana Sotirovski as an honorary student of their Center for responding in emergency situation on the occasion of marking the 115th anniversary of their university. Mayor Sotirovski completed the training for responding in emergency situations at the St. Petersburg University of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in 2019. Niš City Mayor and her associates talked with a high delegation about their operational center, as well as about improving cooperation in emergency response, which would be expanded to technical and scientific cooperation. The conversation with the guests from Russia on the improvement of cooperation was attended by the Member of Niš City Council Nenad Stanković, the Assistant Mayor for international cooperation Jovana Mitić, as well as the representatives of the Serbian-Russian humanitarian center in Niš.

 

  • The representatives of leading Japanese companies including Toyo Tires, Itochu Corporation, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric as well as representatives of the Japan International Cooperation and Development Agency (JICA) visited Niš to get acquainted with the potentials and capacities in order to achieve potential business cooperation. Niš City Mayor Dragana Sotirovski met with Japanese businessmen. The Mayor and her associates presented the favorable business environment to Japanese businessmen and introduced them to the city’s potentials, its position and the reasons that could persuade potential Japanese investors to invest their capital in Niš. Japanese companies are increasingly present in Serbia with investments exceeding 2.5 billion dollars. The visit to Niš was organized by the Japanese Business Alliance, which was founded on the initiative of Japanese companies already operating in Serbia, with the aim of improving cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Serbia, primarily through the development of economic and cultural relations between the two countries.

 

  • The guests of Niš City Mayor were the Assistant Minister of Culture and Education in the Government of Republika Srpska, Tanja Djaković, as well as the delegation of the City of Trebinje led by the Mayor Mirko Ćurić. This visit was organized within the manifestation “Days of Srpska in Serbia”. This year, the promotion of the tourist offer of the Republic of Srpska was held on the central city square, and a play by the National Theater of the Republic of Srpska was a guest at the National Theater. The traditional manifestation Days of Srpska in Serbia was launched in 2013 with the idea of presenting Republika Srpska and its potentials to Serbia and its citizens in a new and unique way. In order to promote Republika Srpska, a multi-day event is organized every year, which through various program activities encourages the exchange of cultural achievements and cultural heritage, presents natural beauties, tourist places and routes, catering, cuisine, and most importantly, strengthens the connection between the Serbian people on both sides of the Drina River.

 

  • Niš City Mayor Dragana Sotirovski met with the delegation of the University of East Sarajevo and talked with the members of the delegation about the cooperation between academic community in Niš and East Sarajevo. The delegation was led by the Rector of the University of East Sarajevo, Prof. Dr. Milan Kulić. The guests introduced the Mayor with the organization and educational goals of the University of East Sarajevo, as well as their national mission.

 

  • Niš City Mayor Dragana Sotirovski talked with the delegation of the Bulgarian Municipality Chirpan, led by the Mayor Ivaylo Krachalov, which was in Niš on the occasion of the Day of the City Municipality Pantelej. Pantelej and Chirpan signed the Protocol on cooperation in the field of cross-border cooperation, tourism and culture. The City of Niš received an invitation to present its business environment and surroundings in Chirpan on September 5 and 6, where the Business Forum is being held.

 

  • Niš City Council Member Vladislav Marjanović met with the Ambassador of the Czech Republic Tomas Kuchta and the members of the high delegation of the Senate of that country. The meeting was the opportunity to discuss the improvement of mutual cooperation. The Senate delegation included the President of the Standing Commission for the Diaspora, Tomas Czernin, the Secretary of that Commission, Bronislava Vackova, and Senator Ladislav Vaclavec. The reason for the delegation’s visit to Niš was the event Days of Czech Beer in Nis. As Niš is one of the centers of advanced and innovative technologies, which is what the Czech Republic strives for, it is in the mutual interest of the two sides to develop cooperation in the field of research, science, education and culture, as it was said at the meeting at the City Hall. The initiative was launched for the visit of the Niš delegation to one of the Czech cities where Niš would be given chance to present itself.

 

  • The delegation of South Sinai Governorate and the Embassy of Egypt paid a two-day visit to the City of Niš. The reason was the signing of the Letter of Intent for the establishment of cooperation between the City of Niš and the City of Sharm el-Sheikh. The South Sinai delegation, comprised of the owners of the largest hotel chains in Sharm el-Sheikh and the surrounding area, was led by the Governor of South Sinai, Khaled Fuda. During their two-day stay in Niš, the representatives of South Sinai visited the most important cultural, historical and natural sites. In the meeting with domestic businessmen, tourist workers and the director of the company Airports of Serbia, in the Regional Chamber of Commerce, they discussed the improvement of cooperation in the field of tourism. Special emphasis was placed on the possibility of investing in spa tourism. The establishment of passenger and air traffic between Niš and Sharm el-Sheikh was considered. The delegation also visited the Science and Technology Park, where they got acquainted with the functioning of the organization, and then visited several companies residing there, which is a regional center for dynamic development of innovative scientific and technological entrepreneurship and conquest of high and advanced technologies. The members of the delegation expressed interest in establishing a mini science and technology park in Sharm el-Sheikh within the university, with the professional support of the Science and Technology Park and the University of Niš.

 

2020

 

  • The President of the Swiss National Council Isabelle Moret and her associates began their stay in Serbia with a visit to Niš, where she talked with Niš City Mayor Dragana Sotirovski about the realization of projects financed by that country and the continuation of successful cooperation with the city. At the meeting it was pointed out that the Swiss Government financially supported the e-parliament project and financed the development of the Science and Technology Park in Niš. During a visit to the city of Niš President Moret was introduced to projects supported by the Swiss cooperation in the fields of good governance, economic cooperation and renewable energy.

2019

 

  • The delegation of the Austrian Employment Service, which is the guest of the Nis branch of the National Employment Service, met with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic. The aim of the meeting was to present to the representatives of the Austrian delegation the local government, which was good example when it came to investing locally in active employment policy measures implemented in the city for several years. One of the information heard on this occasion is that Austrian companies operating in Serbia employ more than 20,000 people, but that 38,000 Serbs have citizenship in Austria.

 

  • The delegation from the City of Kecskemét from Hungary led by Deputy Mayor Jozsef Gaal who is also the president of Bacs –Kiskun Chamber of Commerce and Industry visited Nis. During the talks and the presentatios of the two cities, some of the possibilities of cooperation were agreed, both economically, culturally and educationally.

 

  • The delegation of the Parliament of the Republic of Slovenia visited Nis, where it met with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic. In a cordial and friendly conversation they exchanged views on the promotion of cooperation between the City of Nis and this former Yugoslav Republic.

 

  • The manifestation of Republika Srpska Days in Serbia for the seventh consecutive year began with a festive academy on the Grand Stage of the National Theater in Belgrade. In Niš, the Speaker of Nis City Assembly, Rade Rajković, met with the Speaker of the Republika Srpska National Assembly, Nedeljko Čubrilović, and his associates. They discussed the improvement of cooperation between the city and Republika Srpska, and it was pointed out that the cooperation so far was excellent due to personal commitment of the two presidents. The delegation led by National Assembly Speaker Nedeljko Cubrilovic visited some of the most important monuments of history in Nis: the archeological site of the Mediana, the Skull Tower and the monument dedicated to duke Stevan Sindjelic. The well-received and applauded theater performance by National Theatre from Banja Luka was a successful end to both the visit of the Republika Srpska delegation “Days of Republika Srpska in Serbia” event.
  • The visit of the Bavarian business delegation to Nis was organized by Bavaria’s state ministry for the economy and the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce. The delegation was comprised of the representatives of 10 companies from different fields, together with the representatives of the Bavarian Ministry Mr. Martin Grossman and Ms. Ursula Heinzel, whose mission of the visit to Serbia was getting to know the potentials for Serbia’s cooperation with this German province, which was considered to be among the richest and most developed region of Europe.
  • Huawei Company representatives visited Nis and met and discussed the cooperation on the project Nis – Smart City with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatović and his associates, as well as with the representatives of the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications. At the working meeting at Nis City Hall Huawei’s delegation presented the potentials and capabilities of this technology giant, which had already been implemented in a number of cities, and whose functioning greatly enhanced the functionality of these cities and had a particularly positive impact on the quality of life of residents. This is primarily reflected in the reduction of traffic and communal problems, which again leads to a reduction in pollution, energy efficiency, and savings in electricity and ultimately in saving money needed for the functioning of the most important city systems.

 

  • Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic spoke with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Ms. Mariana Nikolova. The topic of the meeting was creating conditions for the improvement of, first of all, economic cooperation, but also the possibilities for establishing closer links in science, education and culture. The companies Nis Brewery and Trace, owned by Bulgarian companies, have been prominent and have been working successfully for many years, as well as numerous firms with developed businesses in the neighboring country. The infrastructure projects that were being implemented in this area, highlighting the completion of the highway and electrification of the Nis-Dimitrovgrad railway line which was of importance to both countries were presented to the guests at the meeting. The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador of Bulgaria in Belgrade Mr. Radko Vlajkov, the director of Regional Chamber of Commerce Nis Mr. Aleksandar Milicevic as well as a number of businessmen from this area who have long-term business cooperation with Bulgarian companies.

 

  • The Governing Board of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Ambassador of Sweden Mr. Jan Lundin visited Nis and met with the Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the representatives of the City of Nis Office for Local Economic Development and Projects to discuss sustainable urban development. Nis is the first city in Serbia that the Sida Board visited, as Sweden is supporting the preparations of building a wastewater treatment plant in the Nis. The Swedish support to Serbia, including the development cooperation, is based on Serbia´s commitment to the EU integration process. The Swedish Government is evaluating the results of the current cooperation strategy and assessing further support to Serbia after 2020. Today the development program is 11 million euro per year and covers the areas of democracy and rule of law, economic integration and environment and climate. The project in Nis includes close cooperation between the Ministry of Environment, local authorities and representatives in the City of Nis within the Swedish PEID project (Priority Environmental Infrastructure for Development). The PEID project will support the preparation of the conceptual design and the tender documents for the waste water treatment plant and collectors.

 

  • Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic with his associates met with the Chinese state-economic delegation at Nis City Hall. The Chinese delegation visited Nis, as part of a visit to Serbia organized by the Wanli Think Thank Association from Beijing. The delegation was led by Mr. Zhao Yue, the Secretary General. The visit of the delegation to Serbia is the result of the cooperation with the Center for Intercultural Communication and Mediation Konflaks whose president is the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Mr. Ivan Mrkic. The possibilities for cooperation were analyzed at the meeting and the investment opportunities were presented as well as the possible participation of the delegation of Chinese businessmen at this year’s Nis Advanced Technology Forum.

 

  • The reception was held for the representatives of the Gironde Department from France who visited Nis within the cooperation project between the Gironde Fire Department and the Nis Secondary Business Law School that educated future firemen. The delegation was led by Ms. Maryse Dusselier, the Head   of the Department for International Relations, joined by Captain Vincent Latorre, the officer from the department for firefighting training, and Mr. Jacques Loche, the director of the college Champs-d ’Eymet à Pellegrue. The guests from France were received by Mr. Sasa Zivic, the Nis City Council Member and Mr. Milos Milosevic, the Assistant Mayor. The total value of this project is about 17 thousand euros, and the school from Nis is in charge of its technical implementation with the support of CM Mediana. During the first year this project will focus on the exchange of French and Serbian professional associates in the training of students for the profile of firefighters of volunteers. A delegation from Gironde will donate to Nis Secondary Business Law School the necessary funds for realization of practical education within the educational profile – fire safety technician.

 

  • The American delegation led by the military attaché of the US Embassy in Serbia Robert Hamilton and the representatives of the American Humanitarian Organization (Spirit of America) visited Nis. On this occasion they visited the day care center for children, youth and adults with disabilities in the development Mara and donated computer equipment.

2018

  • High delegation of the State Fire Protection Service University from St. Petersburg, which is part of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, visited Nis. The guests from Russia were welcomed by the Deputy Mayor Prof. dr Milos Bandjur on the behalf of the Nis City. The delegation of the University was led by the Major Eduard Cizikov, who in 2014 led the Russian rescuers during the floods in Obrenovac and Igor Osipchuk the Rector of this university. In a friendly conversation with the representatives of this elite Russian higher education institution, the possibilities for cooperation in the field of education have been considered.  The representative office of this University will be opened in Nis in the premises of the Serbian-Russian Humanitarian Center. General Eduard Nikolaevich Cizikov, former Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations and Chief Military Expert of the Ministry of Civil Defense Affairs, Emergency Situations and the Mitigation of the Consequences of the Natural Disasters of the Russian Federation, today is the Rector of the State Fire Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations at St. Petersburg University and he  is well known to the public in Serbia because of the prompt action of arriving to rescue mission for people in Obrenovac in less than 12 hours.

 

  • Long-standing friendly relations and cooperation between the City of Nis and the Norwegian Municipality of Saltdal, which were also formalized in the 1985 by Twinning Protocol, are continuing to mutual satisfaction. At the meeting between Nis City Deputy Mayor Milos Bandjur and Mayor of Saltdal Mr. Rune Berg the potentials of both cities were presented and the aspects of future cooperation were disused. The delegation of the City of Nis was in Saltdal last June attending the celebration of 75 years since the first Serb prisoners from concentration camps were taken for forced labor.   Beside the Mayor with his associates, an amateur jazz orchestra from this city was staying in Nis performing at Nisville Jazz Festival.

 

  • The Mayor of Greek Municipality Serres Mr. Petros Agelidis together with his associates visited Nis on the occasion of the celebration of the Days of the Holy Emperor Constantine and Empress Helen – the holy patrons of the City of Nis. At the time of the city festivities and after the Protocol on Twinning between the City of Nis and the City of Serres was verified in Nis, in front of the city councilors and city officials, who voted in the city parliament to formalize the relations between two cities.

 

  • The guests of the City of Nis on the occasion of celebrating city festivities – the Day of the Holy Emperor Constantine and Empress Helena were the representatives of the twin city of Kursk from Russia: Mr. Maslov Yevgeny, a councilor of the Kursk Assembly and a member of the Construction Committee and Mr. Yevdokimov Dmitry, also a councilor in the Kursk city council and the chairman of the Committee for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises and the innovation policy of the Kursk regional assembly.

 

  • The delegations from Vienna and Turkish Izmit visited Nis on the occasion of opening the Exhibition entitled Great Places of World History. Prof. Piero Bordin, the founder and the director of the Festival and Symposium Art Carnuntum, initiated a unique series of international events “The Emperors of Carnuntum – They Changed the World” 10 years ago. This project was also one of the reasons for the European Commission for awarding Carnuntum with the European heritage label.  Great Places of World History Exhibition is also the part of this project and Nis/Naissus – birthplace of Constantine the Great – has been the partner in the since the beginning. This year is the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Also this year is the 70th anniversary of the Declaration of the Human Rights by the United Nations in Paris on December 10th, 1948. Both events have a connection to the Exhibition Great Places of World History.

 

  • In June this year Nis will host the biggest children’s music competition “Serbia in the Rhythm of Europe”. High school students and primary school students, who represented Turkey, last year, won this competition. So this year the competitors from 22 towns of Serbia who will sing in the languages ​​of 22 European countries will compete for this year’s award. In order to promote the competition and the Nis as its host the representatives of more than 20 embassies in Serbia, as well as representatives of municipalities and cities came to Nis.

 

  • Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and his associates met with the delegation of businessmen from the People’s Republic of China led by H.E. Ambassador of China to Serbia, Li Manchang. The possible joint projects of the City and Chinese businessmen were discussed at the meeting such as regional landfill and street lighting in the city. At the same time, the representatives of the City of Nis also presented projects for the construction of a logistics center, scientific and technological park, as well as light rail transport that could also be realized in cooperation with Chinese partners.

2017

 

  • Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic, with his associates, met with the delegation from the French region of Gironde, headed by the delegate from the Council of the Department for European Affairs and Decentralized Cooperation Jacques Respaud. The new modes of cooperation between the City of Nis and the General Council of Gironde were discussed. In particular, the projects dedicated to young people as the most valuable resource of the city were discussed as well projects in the area of culture and local development.

 

  • Bulgarian delegation led by Mr. Dmitar Glavchev, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, visited the Nis where the meeting was held with the Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic. During the meeting improving cooperation between the City of Nis and neighboring Republic of Bulgaria was discussed. During the discussion the particular emphasis was given to the rapid growth in tourism, having in mind the fact that the number of Bulgarian tourists was constantly increasing.

 

  • Nis City Mayor Darko Darko Bulatovic and his associates met with RS Minister of Environmental Protection Mr. Goran Trivan and Maryland State Economic and Political Delegation. On this occasion City of Nis team presented several projects in the field of environmental protection – Regional Waste Treatment Plant Keles and Waste Water Treatment Plant.

 

  • Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met with H.E. Ambassador of Norway Mr. Arne Sanes Bjornstad, who led the Nordic Business Alliance delegation in their visit to Nis. The cooperation with companies in Norway, Sweden and Finland, and attracting investors from these countries, as well as facilitating the procedures for their business operation in Nis were the topics of the meeting between the city management and the representatives of Nordic Business Alliance. The goal of Nordic Business Alliance in Serbia is to promote and strengthen the network and cooperation between Nordic companies and Serbia and to contribute to the development of business relations and activities (between the Nordic countries and Serbia).

2016

  • The delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden, which financed, with a million euros, the development of the Feasibility Study for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant visted Nis. The construction of a wastewater treatment plant is the largest project in Serbia in the field of environmental protection and will cost € 56 million. The money will be provided from pre-accession funds of the European Union. The completion of plant will increase the capacity of Serbia to purify waste water by 50%. More than 20,000 tons of sludge from Nisava will be removed every year, and it is planned to revitalize and build more than 35 kilometers of sewerage network. At today’s meeting, the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the City of Nis and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection was announced and the Ministry would donate to the City a million Euros for the complete project-technical documentation for the tender.

 

 

  • The representatives of the French city Arles and Region Gironde were in Nis on the occasion of signing the Letter of Intent with the City of Nis in order to deepen the cooperation through sustainable projects related to the development and protection of cultural and historical heritage in our city, based on experiences from France.

 

  • The representatives of the Russian delegation from Rostov and the Kozak businessmen association met the Nis Deputy Mayor Prof. Dr. Milos Bandjur and his associates and discussed the potentials of Nis and the environment for the establishment of economic cooperation, especially in the field of agriculture. This is only the first in a series of meetings to be organized in order to connect Russian and Serbian agricultural producers in order to increase the export of domestic products to the Russian market, in accordance with the required standards.

 

  • Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met today with the former EU Parliamentarians at Nis City Hall. Former members of the European Parliament use their experience in strengthening parliamentary democracy and promote debate on the future of the EU. In a two-hour discussion with the Mayor of Nis and his associates, it was agreed that in order to overcome all the challenges in the Union today, unity is needed, and in that light the views were exchanged on the policy of enlargement of the Union, the effects of Brexit, the migrant crisis, the concerns over the rise of terrorism.