The Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Martinović, PhD, and the Director of the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA), Maja Handjiska Trendafilova, have discussed today the results of the past cooperation and possible forms of future cooperation between MDULS and ReSPA.
The interlocutors have agreed that there is room for improvement and deepening of mutual relations, which should contribute to further modernization and professionalization of public administration in the entire region.
Martinović has pointed out that Serbia is trying to strengthen its position and be more visible within this international organization, especially in terms of additional personnel capacity.
“Our country has achieved serious results and significant progress in reforming the public administration and local self-government, especially on the normative level. We have passed a large number of laws and by-laws, and I believe that our experience could be useful to countries in the region,” the minister has emphasized and added that Serbia is open to other people’s ideas and specific proposals which will help improve the reform process.
Referring to the “Open Balkans” initiative, initiated by the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, as an example of successful regional cooperation, Martinović has explained that the countries of the Western Balkans have similar experiences and problems, and that dialogue and exchange of views are the only way to resolve them.
The Director of ReSPA has congratulated Martinović on his appointment as Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, and expressed her gratitude for the fact that MDULS, as the main institutional partner of this organization, recognizes its mechanisms and instruments for creating responsible and efficient administration systems in the countries of the Western Balkans.
The potential cooperation between regional schools and academies for the training of civil servants has also been discussed at the meeting, while Handjiska Trendafilova has underlined that the National Academy of Public Administration has become a brand in the region, with which Serbia had set standards for other countries which are members of ReSPA in the field of professional development of public administration employees.
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