Minister Vučević signs Protocol on Cooperation with Matica Srpska

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević and President of Matica Srpska Prof. Dagan Stanić, PhD, signed a Protocol on Cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and Matica Srpska in Novi Sad today.



Minister Vučević thanked the President of Matica Srpska and his associates for the opportunity to discuss future cooperation.
 
- The public usually perceives the Ministry of Defence only through the Serbian Armed Forces, which are the most significant and dominant segment, but the Ministry of Defence has many other sectors. With me today are the people who manage the Defence University, the Public Relations Department, as well as the Assistant Minister for Human Resources, a sector comprising the Military Museum and many other units of the Ministry of Defence – said Minister Vučević.
 
The Ministry of Defence, he reminded, has one of the most impressive archives in our country - the Military Archive, as well as the Military Geographical Institute, which is an institution of national importance in terms of topography.



- All of this can be useful to Matica Srpska, considering its publishing and other activities it carries out in an effort to preserve the cultural heritage, that is, the identity of our people and our country. And I would say that it didn't take long for us to agree on everything that we will do together from now on. The protocol we have signed provides a basis for future work, and we have already specified what we will do together in the forthcoming period and exchanged some ideas - Minister Vučević said.

During the meeting today, he said, there was also talk about topics related to security in the broad context of stability of our country. He thanked the mayor of Novi Sad, Milan Đurić, for attending the signing of the protocol, because Matica Srpska is a symbol of Novi Sad and its integral part.
 
According to the president of Matica Srpska, Prof. Stanić, who stressed the importance of the protocol signed today, this is an opportunity to broaden cooperation with the Ministry of Defence, because this institution offers resources that can ensure serious cooperation.



- The military has resources related to scientific and research work, to the cultural sphere, to the sphere of fostering values ​​that raise the spirit that binds us to this space that our ancestors built and that we should continue to build and leave it to future generations - said Prof. Stanić.

In addition to the scientific, cultural and artistic fields, he said, Matica Srpska is interested in everything that leads to the stabilization of society, including the military factor, which is of particular importance.
 
- We support everything that is done in the military system. I think that keeping balance and being determined to move towards better outcomes is very clear there. We believe and hope that it will be enough for us to save ourselves from some major troubles in these chaotic international circumstances in which we live today - said the president of Matica Srpska, adding that he is personally advocating for bringing back mandatory military service and illustrating with his own example the importance of military service for a young man.



The protocol signed today is a document establishing cooperation in the sphere of cultural and scientific development between the Ministry of Defence and Matica Srpska – Serbia’s oldest literary, cultural and scientific institution. The protocol also defines forms of joint action and modalities of cooperation.
 
The signing of the protocol was attended by acting Assistant Minister for Human Resources Siniša Radović, Rector of the Defence University Brig. Gen. Prof. Boban Đorović, Head of Office of the Minister of Defence, Brig. Gen. Goran Momčilović, Head of the Public Relations Department, Brig. Gen. Asst. Prof. Mihailo Zogović and Mayor of Novi Sad Milan Đurić.