October 21

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic received the delegation from the City of Kecskemét from Hungary. The Hungarian delegation is led by Deputy Mayor Jozsef Gaal who is also the president of Bacs –Kiskun Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  “In addition to all the joint activities I would like to draw your attention to Nis Spa, from the point of view of possible cooperation, because Hungary is a country of developed spa tourism, and we can offer a lot to potential investors,” said Mayor Bulatovic. Jozsef Gaal said that there were interested Hungarian investors, ready to invest in spa tourism in Serbia and that they would be provided with the necessary documentation, and then concrete meetings were to follow. There is also a possibility of faculty-level cooperation in scientific fields, since the member of the Kecskemét delegation was Jozsef Karpati, the Head of the Cabinet of the Dean of John Neumann University in Kecskemét.

October 12

Switzerland has been pioneering support to the development and modernization of local assemblies in Serbia. Most recently, through the project “Strengthening the Oversight Function and Transparency of the Parliament – Phase 2”, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Switzerland supported the introduction of digital platforms to modernize the work of local parliaments. Nis City Assembly Speaker Rade Rajkovic and Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met with UNDP Resident Representative Francine Pickup and Swiss Cooperation Office Representative Sascha Müller as part of the implementation of the E-Parliament project. The City of Nis Assembly is the first in Serbia to use software version adapted to the work of Nis parliamentarians. The system ensures greater efficiency of the Assembly’s work, saves money and allows for more users to simultaneously search for information, while having access to documents at all times. In addition to these benefits for the members of the parliament (MPs), e-parliament also makes the work of local assemblies more transparent and accountable for citizens. Apart from the development of the e-parliament, Nis was supported in preparing amendments to the Rules of Procedure regarding the City assembly’s transition. The Rules of Procedure will enable Nis City Assembly to adapt its work to digital way of working, as well as electronic voting, thus significantly reducing the time and cost of assembly sessions. Overall, the Swiss Government and UNDP assistance for the Nis Assembly encompasses 78 tablets, as well as expert support with a total value of 150,000 EUR. It is estimated that the City of Nis will thus save over 2 million dinars annually, which is the amount of savings in printing assembly materials. Also, by eliminating the need to print and submit documentation from the session to each Member individually, significant savings will be made. “Strengthening the Oversight Function and Transparency of the Parliament” Project is supported by Switzerland with 1,7 million EUR with the aim of achieving a more transparent and efficient work of the National assembly and local assemblies across Serbia.

October 9

Finnish ambassador in Serbia Mr. Kimo Lahdevirta visited Nis. He met with Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic and the two officials discussed the possibilities of Finnish companies investing in IT in this area and improving cooperation in other areas with this Scandinavian country. Ambassador Lahdevirta said that Finland operates in Serbia through several companies, and especially emphasized the example of the brand “Kone”, which deals with the installation of lifts and escalators and has a business center in Serbia. After the meeting with the Mayor, the Ambassador Lahdevirta spoke about the priorities of the Finland chairing the EU Council in the second half of 2019.  During the presentation of the priorities of the Finnish EU Presidency the Ambassador also emphasized the importance of enlargement of the Union as well as the unity of the entire continent. “If we want to succeed in the future, I think we must all be together, not only EU member states but all European countries,” said Ambassador Lahdevirta. Finland took over the rotating six-month presidency of the EU Council from Romania on 1 July this year. Priority issues include strengthening shared values ​​and the rule of law, competitiveness and social inclusion, taking on the role of global leader in the fight against climate change, and overall protection of citizens’ security. After the presentation in the EU info corner, he officially opened the exhibition Finnish Innovative Design in the Officers’ Mess Building, which was realized in cooperation with the organization Young Ambassadors from Nis.

September 25

International Conference Opportunities for Expanding Economic Cooperation between Russia and the Balkan Peninsula within the Current Political Situation was held at the Regional Chamber of Commerce in Nis, organized by the Balkan-Russian Economic Forum. At this conference 28 experts from the field of international cooperation and economics presented their opinions. Alexei Vladimirovich Kuriniy, the Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation attended the conference.  On behalf of the City of Nis Deputy Mayor Milos Bandur greeted the guests and emphasized the importance of such gatherings and the importance of improving economic cooperation with Russia. This conference was supported by the Gorchakov Fund of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as by the City of Nis and the RDA South.

September 18

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. Mayor Bulatovic pointed out that cooperation was at high level, but that it could be improved further. He particularly referred to the establishment of air traffic on the Nis-Ljubljana route and the fact that the planes were mostly full, which greatly facilitated the further development of cooperation. On the Slovenian side, expressions of gratitude were expressed by Predrag Bakovic, the Member of Parliament and the President of the Friendship Group with Serbia.

September 13

The representatives of the City of Nis attended the international meeting in Sliven, Bulgaria, within the project “United Europe – Security, Solidarity and Stability”, supported through program “Europe for Citizens”. The project was implemented through the partnership of Sliven, Nis and Bydgoszcz from Poland. After presenting the cities of Sliven (Bulgaria), Bydgoszcz (Poland) and Nis (Serbia), the Mayor of Sliven Stefan Radev, Assistant Mayor of Nis Marina Kostic and Assistant Mayor of Bydgoszcz Joanna Zataj Ross signed the letter of intent outlining the goals of future cooperation between these cities. The event was attended by the first advisor at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Sofia Ms. Gordana Bozic, a member of the Nis City Council Slavoljub Savic, the director of PUC Medijana Dragoslav Pavlovic, who presented Nis potentials prepared by the Nis City Office for Local Economic Development and Projects, the president of Sliven City Municipality Dimitar Mitev, deputy provincial governor of Sliven district Kamen Kostov and the representatives of administration, educational and cultural institutions, universities, chamber of commerce, local and regional development agencies, cultural centers, non-profit organizations and the media of these three cities.

During the visit three forums were implemented in the fields of culture, youth and economy. On the second day, at a cultural forum, the participants presented the cultural, historical and tourist heritage of their cities. The Secretary of the Secretariat for Culture and Information of the City of Nis Aleksandra Radosavljevic presented international events that are of great importance for the City of Nis with short films about those city events. Tamara Ciric, from the Secretariat for Culture and Information, presented the cultural and historical heritage of our city with the support of all present representatives of Nis cultural institutions. The conclusion of the cultural forum is that there are good grounds for successful partnership and cultural cooperation between the three participating cities. The presentation of the members of the Nis Youth Council discussed strategic documents on the basis of which youth policies are implemented in Nis, with the aim of improving the position of young people in the city and preventing young people leaving Niš, such as scholarships for the best students and athletes, etc. This topic was interesting for all three cities because they all face the same problem of young people leaving to live and work abroad. Nis Economic Delegation was led by the Speaker of the Parliament of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Nis Mr. Andrija Radojicic and the Director of the Regional Chamber of Commerce Nis, Aleksandar Milicevic. Current economic trends tourism and traffic potentials of the Nisava, Pirot and Toplica administrative districts are presented. Within the business meetings, which were also organized within the business forum, the economic and investment potentials of Nis and the region were presented, as well as the planned investments that are underway. A delegation of businessmen held meetings with businessmen from Sliven, Sofia, Yambol and Bydgoszcz, and visited the most prominent companies operating successfully in Sliven.

September 10

The delegation of the City of Nis participated in the Second International Forum of Old Towns in the Russian city of Ryazan, which was held under the auspices of the Committee of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Ryazan region. The requirement for participation in this Forum was that the city was over 500 years old. The main topics of the Forum were architecture, history, cultural heritage, theater, photography and gastronomic tourism, and the first session of the Association of Old Towns was held during this event. Representatives of the City of Nis participated in the work of the Forum on three topics – possibilities and directions of cooperation of ancient cities, Nis cultural heritage during its two thousand years of existence and implementation of measures for the improvement of squares, river banks, streets, pedestrian zones, parks and other public areas. The organizers pointed out that the holding of this Forum should serve to strengthen and develop cultural links between cities, regions and countries.

August 29

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met with UNDP and UNHCR representatives in Serbia about the assistance these organizations has been providing to the city in the implementation of projects of particular importance to national minorities. The meeting was also attended by Nis City Council Member for Social Care Issues Mrs. Tijana Djordjevic Ilic and Assistant Mayor Goran Milosavljević. Mayor Bulatovic emphasized the openness of the City of Nis to all projects that would improve the quality of life of minority communities and that excellent cooperation has been achieved so far.  UNDP Resident Representative to Serbia Ms. Francine Pickup highlighted the great experience that UNDP has in the implementation of projects all around the world. UNDP Strategic Plan focuses on key areas such as poverty reduction, democratic governance, peacebuilding, climate change and disaster risk and economic inequality. UNDP supports governments in integrating sustainable development goals into their national development plans and policies. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals involves partnering governments, the private sector, civil society and citizens to ensure a better living environment for future generations. The head of the UNHCR in Serbia, Hans Friedrich Schoder expressed satisfaction with the progress in the area of refugee care through existing programs and announced continued support to the Government of Serbia, the civil sector and local governments in addressing key refugee problems.

August 14

City of Nis has joined a group of 210 cities across Europe, representing 62 million citizens, whose mayors and leaders demanded that the European Council and Member States intensify EU commitment to climate change, show global leadership and take an ambitious approach to lead rapid advances in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The open letter, signed by the leaders of cities from 21 EU member states and 7 neighboring countries, was published ahead of the Future of Europe conference in Sibiu, Romania (https://energy-cities.eu/policy/cities-call -for-a-more-sustainable-and-equitable-european-future/). Their demands include: developing a fair and inclusive European long-term climate strategy that will increase resilience to climate change and ensure that greenhouse gas emissions are more than halved by 2030 by 2020 and reach zero net emissions by 2020 2050; advance the EU climate and energy targets by 2030 and targets set at national level to ensure a rapid, equitable and climate-resilient energy transition in line with the above objectives; aligning the next long-term EU budget with this strategy, eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and making climate action a priority in all funding programs; obliging all EU Member States to set binding zero net emission reduction targets and other targets above. “As Nis City Mayor I am extremely proud to add my name to this letter signed by mayors from all over Europe,” said Darko Bulatovic, Mayor of Nis. “Our citizens have the same concerns as citizens of all Europe, concerns for their children and for their future. The City of Nis is ready to lead by example the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future, but we need the support from our government and from all levels of EU to ensure that these ambitious but necessary goals are met. “

August 13^th

Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic met with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden in Serbia Mr.  Jan Lundin at Nis City Hall and on this occasion the two officials discussed promoting co-operation and developing bilateral relations. The cooperation so far has been excellent, especially in the field of culture and environment, which is especially true of the project of preparing the tender and technical documentation for the construction of the Waste Water Treatment Plant, which has been supported by Sweden through Sida. Mayor Bulatovic and Ambassador Lundin also stressed the importance of maintaining 3 airline routes from Nis to cities in Sweden, Stockholm and Malmo and recently Gothenburg. According to Ambassador Lundin this will be of great benefit primarily to the numerous Serbian diaspora in this Scandinavian country, as well as to tourists from Sweden who want to get to know this part of Europe as well, because of the rich heritage of this part of Serbia, as well as the many attractive events and festivals, such as the just completed Nisville. It was also estimated that the improvement of air traffic, as well as all other types of traffic, significantly increased the capacities of Nis and this part of Serbia in attracting new investors from this friendly country, which, as agreed, would be the focus of future cooperation between Nis and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Serbia.