Novi Sad, 31 October – Bálint Juhász, President of the AP Vojvodina Assembly spoke today with H.E. Kristin Melsom, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of Serbia, on cooperation between AP Vojvodina and Norwegian regions, environmental protection, renewable energy sources, and Vojvodina’s great potentials in agriculture and the IT industry.
President Juhász emphasized the long-standing and friendly cooperation with the Norwegian region of Nordland, which has the potential to expand and be realised in areas of mutual interest for both regions, such as ecology, agriculture and the IT industries.
“AP Vojvodina is primarily an agricultural region, but we also have a highly developed IT industry. Novi Sad is the largest IT centre in our country, and we are very proud of the synergy between the University of Novi Sad, the Provincial Government, entrepreneurs, the Biosense Institute, and the Science and Technology Park, which gives rise to exceptional projects and results,” said Mr. Juhász.
He added that the Republic of Serbia and AP Vojvodina strive to contribute to the global fight for environmental protection and informed Ambassador Melsom about the subsidies that exist at the local and provincial level for energy efficiency, which, in addition to environmental benefits, also provide financial benefits to the citizens.
“I strongly believe that we must make citizens our partners on this road. Regardless of the adoption of declarations, the construction of infrastructure and wind farms, if we do not have a partnership with citizens, we will not achieve much as regards the green transition,” Mr. Juhász stated.
H.E. Ambassador Melsom pointed out that there were Norwegian IT companies that operated in Serbia and Novi Sad and stressed that the employees of those companies were exceptional experts very dedicated to their work. She added that Norway had come a long way in terms of environmental standards and that they were willing to exchange experiences and examples of good practice.
President Juhász also pointed out that Norway and Serbia shared a common history, and that it was very important to cultivate a culture of remembrance of the period when, during the Second World War, a large number of people from our country had been deported to Norway in order to build roads and railways in the north of that country, and thus the famous “Blood Road”. H.E. Ambassador Melsom pointed out that the Ministry of Culture of Norway took great care of all the memorials to the victims of that period, which were many, and that the period created unbreakable bonds between our two nations.