India-Serbia Bilateral Relations

Political Relations

 India and Yugoslavia traditionally enjoyed deep friendship as co-founders of the Non-Aligned Movement. The deep bond of friendship continued in subsequent decades resulting in close and friendly ties between India and Serbia. India gives principled support to territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and has not recognized Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) by Kosovo. India and Serbia also share common views on many major global issues.

2. While many ministerial visits have been exchanged since 2000, in a first in three decades, Vice President paid an official visit to Serbia during 14-16 September 2018 and met with President Aleksander Vucic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and Ms. Maja Gojkovic, Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia. Both sides expressed commitment to further build on long-standing friendly ties and to enhance cooperation in the areas of priority such as agriculture, food processing, defence manufacturing, S&T, IT, infrastructure, tourism and pharmaceuticals. The Vice President addressed the special session of the National Assembly of Serbia. On the occasion of 70^th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations, Serbia Post and Department of Post of India jointly released commemorative stamps on Serbian scientist and inventor, Nikola Tesla and Swami Vivekananda. Vice President and Serbian President addressed the India-Serbia Business Forum where large number of Serbian companies and Indian business delegation took part. At the forum, bilateral cooperation in the area of agriculture, pharmacy, IT industry, tourism, education, etc, were discussed. Two agreements were signed during the visit : (a) Revised Air Services Agreement (b) Agreement on Cooperation in Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine.

3. President Aleksandar Vucic visited India from 9-12 January, 2017 in his capacity as PM to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit where he held delegation level talks with PM Modi and invited hm to visit Serbia. Among other things, both sides agreed on the need to promote economic cooperation, especially in food production, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, defence industry, health, tourism and IT. Addressing the businesses in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, Mr. Vucic invited Indian investors and promised to provide the best possible business conditions for Indian companies in Serbia.

4. Dr. Jitendra Singh, MOS (PMO) visited Serbia from 12-16 October, 2016 and met PM Aleksandar Vucic, Speaker Maja Gojkovic, First DPM & FM Ivica Dacic, DPM and Minister of Trade, Tourism & Telecommunications, Rasim Ljajic and Minister of Agriculture & Environmental Protection Branislav Nedimovic. MOU on Cooperation in the field of IT & Electronics was signed.

5. First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Serbia Ivica Dacic visited India in May 2018 at EAM’s invitation and held bilateral talks on various topics of mutual interest. He also called on the Vice President. A new comprehensive bilateral agreement on cooperation in the fields of culture, arts, youth, sports and mass media was signed.

6. Raksha Mantri Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman met Serbia’s Defence Minister Mr. Aleksandar Vulin in April 2018 on the sidelines of the VII Moscow Conference of International Security (MCIS 2018) to discuss the prospects of bilateral defence cooperation.

7. Mr. Branislav Nedimovic, Serbian Minister for Agriculture, Forestry & Water Management led a delegation including agro processing companies to World Food India, New Delhi (3-5 November 2017) where Serbian companies exhibited frozen fruits, confectionery, dried fruits, etc. Minister Nedimovic met with Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture who suggested exports of tropical fruits such as mango, pineapple, banana, papaya etc. Minister Nedimovic invited India to be a partner country at the annual International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad. Cooperation in food processing was discussed with Union FPI Minister Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

8. Other significant bilateral visits are as follows:

Visits from India

2002 - Shri Vinod Khanna, Minister of State for Tourism & Culture visited FRY in September 2002. An Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Culture, Education and Sports was signed on 20 September, 2002.

2004 - Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of State for Science & Technology visited Belgrade from 27-29 October, 2004 to sign an Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Science & Technology between India and Serbia & Montenegro (SCG).

Smt. Renuka Chowdhury, MOS(Tourism) visited Serbia to inaugurate the “Days of India” festival from 1-14 November, 2004.

2005 - Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs visited Serbia & Montenegro from 6-9 July, 2005 to seek support for the G-4 Resolution.

2007 - Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of State for External Affairs visited Serbia on September 17-18, 2007. Agreement on visa exemption for Diplomatic & Official passport holders and MOU for cooperation between FSI and the Diplomatic Academy of Serbia were signed. A bust of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled at the bank of Sava river.

2009 - Shri Nanda Kumar, Agriculture Secretary visited Serbia in March 2009. Agreement on Cooperation in Agriculture and Allied Sectors was signed.

2011 - Smt. Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs visited Serbia in September 2011 for anniversary commemoration of NAM.

2013 - Smt. Preneet Kaur, MOS visited Serbia in November 2013. Two Agreements: India-Serbia Agreement on Serbia’s Accession to WTO and the 99 year lease of Embassy Residence were signed during the visit.

Visits from Serbia

2003 - Mr. Goran Svilanovic, Foreign Minister of Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) led a delegation of businessmen to India in October 2003.

2005 - Mr. Predrag Bubalo, Minister of Economy & Privatization of SCG visited India in Jan-Feb 2005

2006 - Dr. Predrag Ivanovic, Minister for International Economic Relations of SCG led a 20-member delegation of officials and businessmen to India from 7-11 February 2006. During the visit, agreements on Trade and Economic Cooperation and Avoidance of Double Taxation were signed.

2007 - Ms. Yasna Matic, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy & Regional Development accompanied by Mr. Goran Jesic, Mayor of the Municipality of Indjija. visited India to study the development of IT and related sectors. The visit led to the signing of an agreement with the Embassy Group of Bangalore in September 2007 to build an IT Park in Indjija.

2008 - Dr. Ana Pesikan, Serbian Minister of Science led a delegation to India on February 17– 23, 2008. A Programme of Cooperation on S&T for 2008-2010 was finalized during the visit.

Ms Yasna Matic, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy & Regional Development visited New Delhi in April 2008 for the first meeting of JEC.

Mr. Vuk Jeremic, Foreign Minister of Serbia visited India in September 2008.

9. A Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Yugoslavia was signed in June 1995. The 1^st round of FOCs was held in Belgrade during Secretary (West)'s visit to Belgrade in February 1998. The 2^nd round was held after a gap of three years in March 2001, also in Belgrade during the visit of Secretary (West). The 3^rd meeting took place two years later in Jan-Feb 2003 when Secretary (EAA) accompanied by JS (CE) visited Belgrade. The 4^th round of FOC with Serbia & Montenegro was held in New Delhi in December 2004 while the 5^th round was held in Belgrade in July 2009. The 6^th meeting was held in November 2010 in New Delhi. The 7^th round of FOC was held in July 2012 during the visit of Smt. BB Harrison, AS(CE) where the two sides stressed on more political level exchanges and reactivating the Joint Economic Committee.

10. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, First Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and Foreign Secretary Nemanja Stevanovic gave special messages on the occasion of India@70. In a friendly gesture two iconic structures in Belgrade, namely, ‘Ada Bridge’ and 'Palace of Albania' were lighted in Indian flag colours to mark India@70.

11. Conferences: (i) Mr Bogdan Igic, State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Water Management led the Serbian delegation to the 4^th IE29BF (5-6 March, 2018) at New Delhi where he presented Serbian perspective on accelerating bilateral trade with special focus on agriculture sector. The Serbian delegation met Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and reiterated Serbian interest in exporting fruits to India. (ii) Ms. Irini Reljin, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Trade, Tourism & Telecommunication led a 4-member delegation to Global Conference on Cyber Security-2017 at New Delhi, November 2017. (iii) Ms Natasa Milanovic, Director, Biosil d.o.o participated in the 8^th Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2017) in Hyderabad from 28-30 November 2017. (iv) Mr. Jovan Ratkovic, International Secretary, Social Democratic Party and Dr. Marko Savkovic, Programme Director, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence attended ‘Raisina Dialogue’ at New Delhi from 16-18 January, 2017.

12. Agreements : Existing agreements include : (i) Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) [2003], New Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) is under negotiation (ii) Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) [2006] (iii) Trade Agreement (MFN status) [2006] (iv) Tourism Agreement [2004] (v) MOU on Agricultural Cooperation [2009] (vi) MOU on Cooperation in Science and Technology [2004] (vii) MOU on IT & Electronics [October 2016] (viii) MOU on Archives (Oct 2017) (ix) MOU on Cooperation in Culture, Arts, Youth, Sports and Mass Media (2018) (x) Revised Air Services Agreement [2018] (xi) Agreement on Plant Quarantine and Plant Protection (2018). All working group meetings have been held including Agriculture Joint Commission (Nov 2016), Joint Economic Committee (2017), Joint Committee on S&T (2016 & 2017) and JWG on IT & Electronics (Oct 2017).

13. Training: The ITEC Programme was extended to Serbia in 2008 and since then over 150 Serbian ITEC-trainees have undergone training in India including in IT, telecommunications, WTO, English language, SMEs, management, finance, textiles, rural development, environment, yoga, etc. Serbia has been availing of Training of Diplomats under PCFD and so far 9 Serbian diplomats have undertaken this training.

14. Visas: Serbia unilaterally abolished visas for 30 days’ stay in a year for Indian nationals holding ordinary passports w.e.f. 2^nd September 2017 and since then approximately 15000 Indians have visited Serbia. Serbian nationals are increasingly using e-visa facility; approx. 2000 Serbians visited India for business and tourism during 2017.

Economic & Commercial Relations

15. Bilateral trade at US$ 198.5 m in 2017 registered an increase of 39% as compared to 2016 with Indian exports worth US$ 187.6 m and imports US$ 10.9 m. During January-September 2018, bilateral trade amounted to US$ 156.9 million, an increase of 12.7% compared to the same period in 2017, with Indian exports to Serbia valued at US$ 149.2 million and Serbian exports to India at US$ 7.7 million. More than 200 business visas were issued in 2017 to Serbian companies to provide business solutions to India companies. Recent bilateral trade figures are given below (in US$ Million):

Source: Statistical Office of Republic of Serbia

Major Indian investments and present collaboration of Indian & Serbian companies is as follows:

Embassy Group has developed an IT Park in Indjija (USD 20m).

Chennai based TAFE exporting tractors to Serbia for over six decades acquired strategic asset of Serbian IMT (April 2018) for EUR 600,000.

CG Group India has invested Euro 9 m in a noodle factory in Ruma.

Mahindra and Sonalika have assembly lines through local partners.

Two UAE-based Indian companies have invested in Serbia: Excel Industries (Blok Signal - for making waste management equipment and railway equipment - USD 1.1 m), Mulk Holdings (Alubond Europe-for manufacturing aluminum panels - USD 20 m).

Himalaya Herbals, Panacea Biotec, HiMedia Laboratories, etc have local representatives.

16. The Serbian IT company Schneider Electric DMS NS delivered its most advanced 3rd generation ADMS on development of the first greenfield integrated smart city of Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh under the Smart Cities programme of the Government. Schneider Electric DMS NS also worked in other projects in India including OPTCL Puri and R-APDRP ADMS projects in Bihar and Kerala.

17. Joint Economic Committee: The India-Serbia JEC was established under the Agreement on Trade &Economic Cooperation signed on 7^th Feb 2006. The first Meeting of the JEC was held in New Delhi on 2^nd April 2008 while the 2^nd meeting was held via DVC on 9^th October 2014. The 3^rd meeting of the JEC was again held through video conferencing on 10^th March 2017 where both sides expressed readiness to find ways and means for further development of bilateral economic cooperation.  

18. Joint Commission on Agriculture: India-Serbia Joint Commission on Agriculture was set up under the bilateral Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture & Allied Sectors signed in March 2009. The 1^st Meeting of the Joint Commission was held through DVC in November 2016 where India expressed interest in import of pulses, soyabean, oil seeds. Serbia emphasized on export of fresh, frozen & processed fruits and vegetables to India and import of agriculture machinery such as trucks, tractors, combine harvester. India reiterated interest in exporting tropical fruits, mango, pineapple, banana, papaya etc. India was invited to be a Partner Country in the International Agricultural Fair, Novi Sad. Agreement on Plat Quarantine and Plant Protection singed in Sept 2018 aims to promote trade in fruits, vegetables and processed food.

19. Joint Committee on S&T: Established under Agreement on S&T Cooperation singed in October 2004, the first meeting of of India-Serbia Joint Committee on Science & Technology was held through DVC on 6^th December 2016. The 2^nd Session was held in Belgrade in October 2017. A new Programme of Cooperation (POC) was signed with increased fields of cooperation. It was agreed to hold two workshops – in the scientific domains of (a) biotechnology & human health and (b) ICT in India and Serbia, respectively. Both sides agreed to announce joint calls after the workshops in accordance with priority fields as incorporated in the POC.

20. Meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) under the bilateral MOU on IT & Electronics (singed in October 2016) was held in October 2017 through video conferencing where both sides exchanged cooperation agendas in the field of e-Governance, Cloud Computing, IoT, Big Data, Start-up ecosystem etc.

21. Trade Fairs: Embassy regularly participated in following local fairs :

i) International Fair of Tourism (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

ii) International Book Fair (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)

iii) International Agriculture Fair (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

vi) International Ethnic Food & Drinks Fair (2015, 2016)

ASSOCHAM delegation comprising of 35 business delegates cum exhibitors participated in the 80^th International Agricultural Fair of Novi Sad in May 2013. Indian tractor companies TAFE, Mahindra and Sonalika regularly participate in the annual Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad (May). Indian tour operators Uni Crystal and Truly India Tours participated in the annual Tourism Fair. Morbi Ceramics Association (MCA) participated in the South East European Belgrade Building Expo (SEEBBE) (2017). HBL Power Systems Limited participated in the International Armament & Military Equipment Fair “Partner 2017”. Kotak Mahindra Bank participated in ‘Roadmapping The Digitial (r)Evolution’ Conference xCEEd 2017.

22. Commercial visits: (a) Power & coal delegation from West Bengal comprising Mr. S.Kishore, Principal Secretary, Power Department, Government of West Bengal and Mr. Santanu Basu, CMD, WBPDCL visited to Serbia in May 2017 regarding possible collaboration in Coal Mining Technology and Clean Coal Technology. (b) Following acquisition of Serbian tractor brand IMT by Chennai-based TAFE, Ms Mallika Srinivasan, Chairperson & CEO, visited Serbia in May 2018 and met Ms. Ana Brnabic, Prime Minister and Mr Branislav Nedimovic, Minister of Agriculture to discuss TAFE’s future investment plans in Serbia. (c) Eight prominent Serbian tour operators undertook a familiarization visit to India (Sept 2017) and held a workshop with top Indian tour operators and government officials. (d) Likewise five Indian tour operators, three travel journalists and two film producers visited Serbia in October 2017 on familiarization trip to Serbia. (e) Mr. Sudhir John Horo, Advisor, Department of Information & Public Relations, Government of Jharkhand visited Serbia in October 2017 to promote Jharkhand state in Serbia. (f) Indian fashion designers Kamran Patel and Anupreet Sidhu showcased their collections RAEGUN and SIDHU JI at the 43^rd Belgrade Fashion Week in April 2018. (g) Ms Dragana Dermanovic, CEO of Bee Premium Group (BPG) and co-founder of the startup BeeShaper attended Women Economic Forum in New Delhi in May 2017 and was chosen as “Woman of the Decade in Social Media and Leadership’’

Serbian companies participated in Indian trade fairs such as AeroIndia, Defexpo, India Engineering Sourcing Show (IESS), Homexpo India, India International Handwoven Fair (IIHF), International Pharma Expo (IPHEX), Global Exhibition on Tourism (GET) India, Global Exhibition on Services (GES 2016 & 2017), Indian Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Show (IFJAS), INDIASOFT, NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2016, Indian Carpet Expo 2016, India Shoe & Accessories Forum (ISAF 2016 & 2017), Vibrant Ceramics Expo & Summit 2016, India International Leather Fair 2017, Indian International Handwoven Fair 2017, IHGF 2016 & 2017, IIGF 2017, Textile India 2017, WEF 2017, WFI 2017, 8^th Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017, INDIASOFT 2018, Bengal Global Business Summit 2018, IE29BF, Smart Cities India Expo 2018. Dr.Vladimir Miklic, Serbian Seed Expert, attended Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM 2016) as an Expert Speaker. 

Cultural Relations

23. Serbian people have lot of interest in Indian culture and Mission has been taking initiatives to enhance and deepen its activities. There is also lot of interest in Serbia on Indian leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore visited Serbia in 1926 and gave two lectures in the Belgrade University. Serbia has two streets named after Mahatma Gandhi and Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru with the busts of the two leaders. The streets were named in 1970s and the busts of the leaders installed in late 1990s (Pt. Nehru) & 2007 (Mahatma Gandhi), on the occasion of declaration of 02^nd October as the International Day of Non-Violence.

24. The Embassy marked the commemoration of 150^th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi with the release of special commemorative stamps issued by the Indian Postal Department on 2^nd October 2018. Embassy arranged the recording of the video of Bhajan ‘Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye Je’ by Ms. Jadranka Jovanovic, veteran Serbian opera singer and sitting Member of the National Assembly of Serbia which was screened on this occasion. In an effort to globalize the messages of Mahatma Gandhi, the Embassy organized projection of his message in the form of LED video in prominent City Hall of Belgrade as well as in the Embassy premises. Online quiz on Mahatma Gandhi was launched on Embassy's facebook page.

25. Serbia co-sponsored India’s Resolutions at UN for declaring October 2 as International Day of Non-Violence and June 21 as International Day of Yoga. Serbia is a culturally vibrant country with high respect for Indian culture and heritage. The recent initiatives include: (i) Course on cultural history of India in University of Belgrade; (ii) ICCR Hindi Chair (2017-18); (iii) Permanent exhibition of Chandigarh’s Rock Garden at the Museum of Naive and Marginal Arts (iv) ICCR Tabla Teacher (2016-17). Gandhi Jayanti, Ambedkar Jayanti and Sardar Patel Jayanti are commemorated through local universities, schools, organizations and media.

26. Serbian National shooting team achieved 4^th rank with two gold, one silver and one bronze medals at the ISSF World Cup Final 2017 at New Delhi in October 2017. 19-member Indian boxing team topped the medals tally with 3 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medals at the 56^th Belgrade Winner-Elite Men & Women Boxing Tournament held at Belgrade in April 2018. The Junior Indian national team finished top in the four nation ’U-16 International Football Tournament’’ organized by the Football Association of Serbia in May 2018. Seven Indian students participated in the 25^th International Conference of Young Scientists (ICYS) at Belgrade in April 2018. India played the Davis Cup World Group playoff tie with Serbia in Kraljevo in September 2018. Indian Davis Cup team had earlier visited in March 2011 to play against Serbia in Novi Sad and Serbian Davis Cup team had visited Bangalore in September 2014 and won the World Group playoff tie against India. In August 2013, Indian Wrestling team participated in the World Wrestling Championship 2013 held at Zrenjanin.

27. India was the ‘Country in the Focus’ at the 27^th International Festival of Ethnological Film organized by the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade from 9-13 October, 2018. On this occasion six Indian films (with Serbian subtitles) were screened.

28. In recent years, Embassy's initiatives in public diplomacy have included participation in: (a) International Agricultural Fair, Novi Sad (2013-18) (b) Belgrade International Book Fair (2013-2017) (c) International Tourism Fair (2014-2018) (d) Food & Drink Fair (2015 & 2016) (e) Fashion Week (Manish Arora 2014; Kamran Patel 2017; Kamran Patel & Anupreet Sidhu 2018) (f) Belgrade Design Week (Satya Sheel 2014) (g) Auteur Film Festival (‘Court’-2015) & 'The Fourth Direction' - 2016)

29. Indian cultural groups continue to be popular in Serbia and recent performances included:

(a) Kathak Dance troupe led by Ashim Bandhu Bhattacharjee in March-April 2004 (b) Odissi Dance Troupe led by Shri Gangadhar Pradhan in July 2004 (c) The "Days of India Festival" was organised in Belgrade in November, 2004, comprising, inter alia, of an Exhibition-cum-Sale of Indian Handlooms and Handicrafts sponsored by the Handloom and Handicrafts Export Corporation of India (HHEC), and an Indian Culinary Festival, sponsored by the Department of Tourism, GOI. (d) Bharatnatyam Dance Troupe led by Uma B. Ramesh in July 2005. (e) Mohiniattam dance by Dr. Deepti Omcherry Bhalla in April 2008 (f) A dance troupe from the Shivam Nritya Cultural Academy participated in the Int'l Folk Festival in Belgrade in July 2008 (g) Odissi dance troupe led by Padmashri Smt. Ranjana Gauhar in September 2010 (h) Kathak Dance Group led by Ms. Rujuta Soman Amogh in 2014 (i) Puppet Group led by Mr Vinod Bhatt in 2014 (j) Fusion Band 'East India Company' led by Mr Angaraag Mahanta-Papon in 2014 (k) Rudra Veena group led by Dr Jayanta Kumar Das in 2015 (l) Katkatha' Puppet Group in 2015 (f) “Laya, Taal, Samvaad” percussion group led by Pandit Sadanand Naimpalli in 2015 (m) Bharatnatyam group led by Ms Jyotsana Jagannathan in 2015 (n) Vishwa Mohan Bhatt at Guitar Art Festival 2016 (o) Shakti' percussion band led by Ms Anuradha Pal in 2016 (p) Workshop by Manasi in 23rd Int'l Children's Theatre Festival in 2016) (q) India @ 70 concert “Kadamb Kathak” of Kumudini Lakhia in 2016 (r) Folklore ensemble of Punjab Cultural Promotion Council at 5^th FIDAF in 2017 (s) Kryative Theatre -the 44^th INFANT, Novi Sad and Belef Festival, Belgrade in 2017 (t) Independence Day Concert Bharatnatyam by Geeta Chandran in 2017 (u) Indian Film Festival at Cultural Hall “Studentski Grad”Belgrade in 2017 (v) Indian film festival at Cultural Center of Kikinda, Vojvodina, Zrenjanin and Mladenovac in 2017 (w) Indian film at Film Street Belgrade in 2017 (x) Documentary film ‘Does Gandhi matter’ on RTS 3 on 2^nd October 2018 to commemorate 150^th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (y) Documentary films on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to commemorate his birth anniversary in Oct 2018.

A three-member Puppet troupe from the Pinokio Theatre, Belgrade hosted by ICCR performed in India for ten days from 23 March to 1^st April 2005.

30. Exhibitions: Embassy organized ICCR sponsored Exhibition “Rumals of Chamba: Embroidered Expressions of Pahari Women” at the National Assembly of Serbia from 01-07 November 2018. The exhibition was based on explorations, revivals and innovations using diverse stitches and textures in Pahari (hills) embroidery. Other recent exhibitions include:

A photo exhibition titled "Faces of India" by Milos Blanusa, Secretary of Serbia-India Friendship Society was held on 16 May 2009 at Kalemegdan fort, Belgrade.

Two ICCR-sponsored photographic exhibitions titled "Archiva" and "Sacred India" by Amit Pasricha were displayed in the city of Leskovac in June 2013.;

ICCR's curated Saree Exhibition/Fashion Show at Ethnographic Museum, Belgrade (2014)

ICCR exhibition "Temple, Forts and Palaces- 2000 Years of Indian Architecture" by Dr Saryu Doshi at National Bank of Serbia, Belgrade (2015)

‘Digital Prints of Artworks by Rabindranath Tagore’ at National Library of Serbia in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Zrenjanin (2015)

Exhibition on INDIASERBIA Photography Contest 2014 showcasing 25 prize winning  entries each from India and Serbia at Museum of Applied Arts (2015)

2^nd IDY Exhibition of Yoga ‘asanas’ at Novi Sad University (2016)

Permanent exhibition of Nek Chand’s Rock Garden at Jagodina Museum (2016)

3^rd IDY Photo Exhibition at Kalemegdan, Belgrade (2017)

Serbian Ethnographic Exhibition at National Museum, New Delhi.

Exhibition of Nek Chand’s Rock Garden, Kalemegdan, Belgrade (2017)

Photo Exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi at Cultural Center, Vrsac (Nov 2017)

Exhibition in the Embassy on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary (Oct 2018)

Exhibition on “Ayurveda for Public Health” in the Embassy premises on the occasion of 3^rd Ayurveda Day (Nov 2018)

31. Indian books have been gifted to National Library; National Assembly; Belgrade City Library; Universities of Belgrade; University of Novi Sad; University of Nis; Belgrade 8^th Gymnasium School; Milutin Bojic Library; Kreativno Pero School; Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj Gymnasium, Novi Sad; Zrenjanin Cultural Centre; Dositej Obradovic School, Pozarevac, Cultural Centre Vrsac; etc.

32. Yoga, Ayurveda and Homeopathy are recognized in Serbian law. Recent initiatives included: (a) Workshop “Traditional Medicine – Goals & Challenges” in the Serbian Ministry of Health (2015) (b) Training of three Serbian medical doctors in Yoga, Ayurveda & Homeopathy (2015-16) (c) International Ayurveda Symposium in Belgrade (2016) (d) IDY (2015- 2018) (e) Photo Exhibition on 3^rd IDY at Kalemegdan (2017) (f) Free consultations on Ayurveda at the International Tourism Fair of Belgrade (2016/2017) (g) ‘Padma Shri’ to Mr Predrag K Nikic, President, Yoga Federation of Serbia (2016) (h) Commissioning of special video “Yoga from the rooftops of Serbia" (2015) (i) Yoga in Prison project – Rehabilitation of Women in Female Prison in Pozarevac, Serbia

33. India receives positive coverage in Serbian media. Special supplements are published in prominent local dailies and business magazines. The national broadcaster Radio & Television of Serbia (RTS) regularly telecasts Indian documentaries. Indian film shootings have commenced in Serbia. First India-Serbia joint production ‘Dev Bhoomi’ by renowned Serbian Director Goran Paskaljevic was shot in Uttarakhand with Indian starcast. There are no resident correspondents in India or Serbia.

34. Indian Community: Only a handful of NRIs/PIOs and no Indian association.

Useful Links:

Embassy of India, Belgrade : https://eoibelgrade.gov.in/ 

Embassy of India - Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/IndiaInSerbia 

Embassy of India - Twitter : https://twitter.com/IndiaInSerbia 

Monthly India Newsletter : https://www.eoibelgrade.gov.in/pages.php?id=56 

December 2018