Today, the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Branko Ružić, addressed the students of the Serbian-American Academy, congratulated them on their successful completion of education and said that this Academy is very important and that they should now use the acquired knowledge for the benefit of their country.
He added that he believes that the participants had more than useful and interesting lectures and that they are aware of the privilege of being addressed within one Academy by high-ranking politicians from the US Administration, as well as by the local officials who seek to improve relations between the two countries.
„This organization does not only have this educational focus, but aims to unite all those who understand how important it is for Serbian-American relations to improve, not to forget the past, but to look to the future, and that the level of relations is very relevant for the future development of our state”, said Minister Ružić.
He pointed out that this is an opportunity for the participants to meet, to get to know and understand that they have common characteristics and aspirations, and that “as of today, all lobbyists shall opt for better relations between Serbia and the United States, which are beneficial for both nations“.
„ Now that you understand how the systems of the two countries work, we can understand how insufficient mutual knowledge actually contributed to relations during the wars in the Former Yugoslavia and disrupted them. With better understanding comes better cooperation, more agreements, more settlements … Here I come to today’s policy, led by the President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić, who managed to achieve the best relations with America in the last 30 years. This will certainly affect the economy, culture, social development, and even the relations between the two nations”, pointed out Ružić, adding that the agreement reached in Washington confirms the good current relations between the two countries.
He appealed to the participants, both as a Member of the Advisory Board of the Serbian-American Friendship Congress and as a Minister in the Government of Serbia, not to miss the opportunity and to always give their best, so that together they can move forward and strive for something which is even better.