On September 11, 2020, was held a Second International Scientific Conference, for a second year in a row, organized by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia – the parliamentary group of friendship with US and the Belgrade Institute for National and International Security (INIS). It gathered together a number of eminent speakers from Serbia and US.
In the roles of co-chairman of the Conference were Dr Darko Trifunović (Director of INIS) and Mr. Dragan Šormaz (Member of Parliament of National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and Head of Serbian-American Parliamentarian Caucuses).
The participants of the Conference were addressed by Members of Parliament:
- Dragan Šormaz
- Dr Zoran Dragišić
- Predrag Rajić
- Ilija Životić
Ministers in the Government of the Republic of Serbia:
- Ivica Dačić, Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Aleksandar Antić, Minister of Mining and Energy
- Branko Ružić, Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government
Speakers from US:
- General-major John Harris, Commander of the Ohio National Guard
- Gregory R. Copley, International Association for Strategic Studies
- Dr Steven Oluic, Retired colonel, lecturer at West Point
- Dr Greg Moore, Notre Dame College, Ohio
- Dr Jonathan Levy, Professor at Norwich University and the University of Southern New Hampshire
- Dr Jan Goldman, Professor of Intelligence and National Security Studies at Tiffin University, editor of the journal Intelligence and Counterintelligence
- Dr Ephraim Isaac, Princeton University
- Mike Keller, US Embassy in Serbia
Speaker from Greece:
- Dr Jonas Nomikos, Research Institute for European and American Studies
Speakers from Serbia:
- Dr Nebojsa Kuzmanović, Archive of Vojvodina, Government of Vojvodina, Serbia
- Dr Predrag Cvetković, Faculty of Law, University of Nis, INIS
- Dr Nikola Tanić, Institute for National and International Security
- Dr Darko Trifunović, Institute for National and International Security
- Branislav Todorović, Institute for National and International Security
- Darko Obradović, Institute for National and International Security
The speakers emphasized the need for strengthening and improvement of Serbian-American relations, referring to current mutual benefits that the two countries have. Speakers also pointed out that it is high time to enter the procedure of strategic partnership with the United States, possibly even the establishment of an alliance.
Experts from Serbia and United States referred to certain supporting historical facts; e.g. the support of the United States for protection of Serbian national interests after the First World War, as well as the support for preserving territorial and economic independence after the Second World War. Speakers reviewed the perspectives and pillars of the current cooperation, the elements of connection and points for improvement of relations, as they tried to give answers to current challenges and provide directions of cooperation and strengthening relations in the future.
Media coverage of the event:
Serbian – American Relationship – novosti.rs