State Secretary Ivica Toncev and Mayor of Dusseldorf at the opening of exhibition “We, at your place – 50 years of life together”

Ivica ToncevOn 8 October, an exhibition entitled “We, at your place – 50 years of life together” opened at the Dusseldorf city hall. The exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the Agreement on the employment of citizens of the then Yugoslavia.

The exhibition was opened by Mayor of Dusseldorf Friedrich Conzen and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Toncev.

Speaking at the event, the State Secretary emphasized the historic importance of the exhibition as a symbol of the significant role played by “guest workers” in strengthening ties between the two countries. It was underlined that our citizens had integrated well into German society, and as such they had been a kind of bridge between Serbia and Germany. The State Secretary stressed that it was important for the expatriate community to maintain Serbian culture and identity and foster ties with the motherland. He underlined in particular that the two countries had intensified the reinforcement of ties and confidence between them, to which a major contribution was made through the mutual trust and continued dialogue between Chancellor Merkel and President Vucic.

The exhibition was attended by many German officials and representatives of the Serbian community living in FR Germany, the majority of whom are residents of the province of North Rhine-Westphalia. During his visit to Germany, the State Secretary took the opportunity to meet with representatives of the diaspora on the premises of the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia, at the suggestion of Consul General Branislava Perin Jaric, who had initiated the staging of an exhibition dedicated to the Serbian diaspora in Germany.

On his visit to Dusseldorf, the State Secretary also got acquainted first-hand with working conditions in the Consulate General, this being one of R. Serbia’s diplomatic and consular missions having the biggest workload due to the number of the local Serbian community and the strong economic cooperation carried out between Serbia and the German province of North Rhine-Westphalia.