“Serbian – American Relations” International Scientific Conference took place in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia . The Conference was organized by Institute for National and International Security (INIS) and National Assembly. It brought together a number of eminent scientists from countries in the region, Europe and the US. In the roles of co-chairman of the first session were Mr. Dragan Sormaz (Member of Parliament of National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and Head of Serbian-American Parliamentarian Caucuses), Prof. dr Vladimir Marinkovic (Vice-President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and founding member of INIS) and Prof. dr Darko Trifunovic (Director of INIS). Introductory keynote speakers were H.E. Kyle Randolph Scott (U.S. Ambassador in Serbia), Major General John C. Harris Jr. (Assistant Adjutant General, Ohio Army National Guard) and H.E. Ivica Dacic (The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia). Several Serbian Ministries were also represented by high ranked officials who greeted the audience and presented views of their institutions on the matter, namely Ms. Biljana Ivkovic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Police and General LTC Aleksandar Zivkovic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense.
In the presence of numerous guests from US and Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia H.E. Ivica Dacic, opening the Conference, said that the Serbia clearly showed that it wants improvement of relations with the US, based on common strategic orientation towards establishing the secure and economically stabile region of the Western Balkans. US Ambassador H.E. Kyle Scott agreed with the assessment that there were radical changes in the relations between two countries through history, but, as he added, the friendly ties between Serbia and America had been and remain still strong and there were prospects for their improvement.
The main conclusion of the Conference was that bilateral relations tend to recover during last years and it expressed the expectation that the United States will exercise its authority to help in resolving the Kosovo problems. The date for the meeting was deliberately selected in honor of the victims of 9/11 attacks. The Conference can be characterized as the largest scientific meeting on the topic of Serbian-American relations in the recent period, which initiated discussion about problems in relations between the two sides and the possibilities of improving cooperation. Within the preparations for the Conference, Prof. dr. Trifunovic said: “The goal of the Conference is to analyze all those things that led to deterioration of relationship in order to improve it. In the two world wars, America and Serbia stepped together. Our flags were tied, we spilled the same blood and it is simply inconceivable that for the last 30 years these relations have been brought to a minimum and that even today we sometimes perceive the US as a hostile state.” He also said that the goal is to identify mistakes and problems on both sides and to give directions and specific suggestions to politicians, which is why the National Assembly House was chosen as the venue for the Conference.
Roles of co-chairman of the second session of the Conference undertook Prof. dr Zoran Dragisic (Member of Parliament of National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and founding member of INIS), Dr. Nebojsa Kuzmanovic (Archive of Vojvodina) and Prof. dr Darko Trifunovic (Director of INIS). Invited guest speakers at the Conference were:
- Dr Ephraim Isaac, Director of the Institute of Semitic Studies, Princeton, New Jersey, US. INIS
- Dr Zoran Dragisic, Member of Serbian Parliament (University of Belgrade) INIS
- LTC Steven Oluic PhD, U.S. Army retired, INIS
- Dr Bojan Tubic, Deputy Minister of Education of Serbia
- Mr. Gregory Copley, President of ISSA International Strategic Studies Association, Alexandria, US
- Dr Nikola Tanic, Founder member of INIS (University of Belgrade) INIS
- Dr Jefferson Adams, Professor Emeritus of History at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, US. INIS
- Dr Orhan Dragas, Institute for International Security, Serbia
- Dr Ioannis Nomikos, Director at the Research Institute for European and American Studies, Athens, Greece, professor of Webster University, US. INIS
- Dr Nebojsa Kuzmanovic, Archive of Vojvodina, Government of Vojvodina, Serbia
- Dr Srdjan Milasinovic, Police Academy of Serbia. INIS
- Dr Dragan Milic, Head of Nis Hospital
- Dr Miomira Kostic, University of Nis INIS
- Dr Predrag Cvetkovic, University of Nis INIS
- Dr Predrag Dimitrijevic, University of Nis INIS
- Dr Sasa Markovic, University of Novi Sad
Invited guests participants was:
- Dr Klaus Lange, Director of the Institute for Transnational Studies (ITS) Germany/Italy
- Dr Klara Knapp Lange, Deputy Director of the Institute for Transnational Studies (ITS) Germany/Italy
- Dr Danuta Gibas-Krzak, Professor at the Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa
- Dr Liliana Popescu, Prorector at the National School of Political and Administration Studies, Bucharest
- Dr Andrzej Krzak, Professor at the Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa
- Dr Ivica Radovic, Professor, the Dean(former) of Faculty of Security Studies University Belgrade
- Dr Rastislav Kazansky, Head of the Department of Security Studies at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica
- Dr Teodora Ivanusa, Professor, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Maribor
- Dr Darko Dimovski, Professor, Faculty of Law University of Nis
- Dr Srdjan Milasinovic, The Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies
- Dr Vasko Stamevski, Professor, Faculty of Law, Former Major General at the Ministry of the Interior
- Dr Želimir Kešetović, University of Belgrade Faculty of Security Studies
Belgrade, September 11, 2019.