BELGRADE – RYCO Local Branch Office in Serbia had an honour to host a delegation of six Members of the Parliament from the National Assembly of Serbia at the premises of RYCO’s office in Belgrade on 20 November.
Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in Serbia Ms Marija Bulat, LBO Program Assistant Ms Bojana Zimonjić and Youth Representative from Serbia in the RYCO Governing Board Mr Marko Kostić, welcomed the delegation composed of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Mr Vladimir Orlić and five young parliamentarians, Ms Sanja Lakić, Ms Ivana Popović, Mr Milan Savić, Mr Đorđe Todorović and Mr Miloš Terzić.
The meeting was opened with highlighting the events that led to the creation of RYCO, where Mr Kostić focused on the role of the RYCO Governing Board and its co-management system. Speaking about RYCO’s mission and objectives, Ms Bulat presented key achieved results and the ongoing activities by emphasizing RYCO’s role in the reconciliation process in the region. In continuation, Ms Zimonjić presented the local activities and the cooperation with RYCO’s partners in Serbia.
During the presentations held, Mr Orlić drew attention to the platform “Friends of RYCO” and the declaration of the Parlamentarias from the region. He underlined his expectations that RYCO will continue to develop collaboration with the parliamentarians in the region and expressed commitment to support parliamentarians from the National Assembly of Serbia to join the initiative.
The young members of the National Assembly discussed with great interest RYCO’s regional projects, by referring to the added value that projects, such as RISE which deals with social entrepreneurship, have in connecting young people in the region.
The second part of the meeting was reserved for discussions on future cooperation among the parties, where both sides agreed that closer cooperation is mutually beneficial. Ms Bulat pointed out that the government of Serbia has shown great dedication to RYCO’s work in the previous years, calling into attention the additional funds that were directed to RYCO on behalf of Serbia in 2019.
The meeting was concluded with remarks by Mr Orlić who reaffirmed his support to RYCO and its initiatives, and expressed willingness to welcome RYCO’s representatives and participants of RYCO activities at the House of the National Assembly in Serbia.