The Provincial Secretary of Vojvodina for Regional Development, Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government Aleksandar Sofić spoke today with the newly appointed Serbian Ambassador to Croatia Jelena Milić and familiarized her with the expectation of Serbs in that country to have the same status as the Croatians have in Vojvodina.

“Serbs in Croatia expect to have the same status in that country as the Croatians have in Vojvodina. In the discussions between their representatives and the provincial bodies, they pointed out that it is also very important to them to get more understanding from the Croatian institutions when it comes to the constitutionally guaranteed position of the Serbian community,” said Sofić to journalists following his meeting with Milić.

Both parties assessed that more work ought to be done on more active participation of local self-governments and institutions where Serbs live when it comes to cross-border cooperation projects.

Sofić said that the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina has a solid cooperation with the Vukovar-Srem and Osijek-Baranja counties in Croatia, the border regions which gravitate the most towards Serbia.

He familiarized Milić with the activities of the provincial government and its institutions, which aid in improving the position of the Serbian people in the region through various programs.

Over the past two years, through the Fund for Refugees, Displaced Persons and Cooperation with Serbs in the Region, the provincial government has provided intense support for Serbs who reside in the Republic of Srpska, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Romania, Montenegro and Albania.