Protocol signed on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and the Organization of Serbian Students Abroad

Today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, signed a protocol on cooperation with the representatives of the Organization of Serbian Students Abroad (OSSI), which, among other things, envisages the possibility for a number of our students from foreign universities to do internships in Serbian diplomatic and consular missions and to attend the Diplomatic Academy.

On that occasion, Minister Selaković stated that the goal is to identify each of our young men and women who study abroad and who express a desire to return to their homeland, get a job here, work, live, raise a family and achieve their professional success.

"This will be one of the most serious priorities in our future activities," Selaković said after signing the protocol.

As he explained, various types of cooperation are envisaged, from enabling professional internships in our embassies and consulates general, to participating in acquiring specialist knowledge at the Diplomatic Academy upon returning from studies abroad, but also connecting our young experts from abroad with employers in Serbia.

"In the future work, and on the basis of the Protocol on Cooperation signed today, we will take special care of our students abroad, and that concern will be reflected in our actions, which are aimed first at being a good service to them in places where we have our diplomatic and consular missions, but also at encouraging their return to their homeland, because Serbia needs an even greater intellectual strength, which our young people are currently acquiring on their studies abroad", Selaković said.

OSSI President, Aleksandar Ljubomirović, said on this occasion that a big step had been taken today towards gathering Serbian students who are currently studying abroad, and a message was sent, that students abroad have not been forgotten by their homeland, and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do everything in the future to facilitate the return of our students to Serbia.

According to a survey conducted by the OSSI in 2020, 31 percent of Serbian students who are currently completing their education abroad want to return to Serbia.

"It is up to us, in cooperation with the MFA, to do everything in our power to bring these students back, or at least to encourage them to return to Serbia. This year, we will create a platform that will gather around 40,000 of our students abroad, and the second step is to connect those students with our institutions and companies in Serbia", said Ljubomirović.

According to his words, there is a desire to return, because this generation of students is patriotic and wants to contribute to the development of Serbian society, economy and political scene.