The Minister of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska Prof. Draga Mastilović PhD said today in Belgrade that the Republic of Srpska and Serbia will establish a coordination team for scientific and technological cooperation next week
Following a meeting with Serbia's Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation Bela Balint, Mastilović said that the first meeting of the team would be held by the end of July.
"The team will consist of experts from the Republic of Srpska and Serbia in two scientific fields and will jointly coordinate all activities in the field of science and technological development," Minister Mastilović said.
According to him, the Republic of Srpska is interested, from a scientific perspective, in the categorisation of journals and access to international journal databases, as well as participation in scientific projects.
"We are also interested in using the experience of developing science and technology parks in Serbia, which are at a European level and are leading in this regard. The Republic of Srpska is only at the stage of establishing its own science and technology park, and the experience we gain from Serbia will certainly be valuable," Minister Mastilović said.
He thanked Minister Balint and his associates for quickly arranging the meeting and agreeing on concrete steps.
"This is very good news for the scientific community in the Republic of Srpska," he said.
He recalled that the Republic of Srpska had made significant progress in recent years in the fields of higher education and student standards, and that from this year it had also done so through increased grants for science, as well as through the implementation of these agreements with Serbia.
"I believe that scientists in the Republic of Srpska can be satisfied both with what was agreed today and with what will take place in the future," Mastilović said.
He recalled that around ten days earlier a meeting had also been held in Banja Luka, attended by the Prime Ministers of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska, where several concrete directions for future cooperation between Serbia and the Republic of Srpska in the field of scientific and technological development had been identified.
"We reacted very quickly. The two science ministries of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska organised this meeting in order to define concrete steps that we will take in the future to expand and deepen cooperation between Serbia and the Republic of Srpska in the field of scientific and technological development," Mastilović concluded.
Serbia's Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation Bela Balint said that Serbia would continue to support the Republic of Srpska in developing its scientific infrastructure, and expressed hope that the establishment of the coordination team for scientific and technological cooperation would efficiently resolve all issues related to science, technological development and the introduction of innovations.
Balint noted that the coordination team would include one representative from each side from every scientific field.
"On the one hand, there will be technical experts, while ministers from both sides will also be involved," Balint said.
He proposed that existing science and technology parks in Serbia be visited during July, so that the experience needed for establishing the science and technology park in Banja Luka, which has already been initiated, could be transferred.
Balint recalled that he had been a member of the Government of Serbia delegation during its recent visit to Banja Luka, when important areas of future cooperation were initiated, including the establishment of a joint team that would coordinate cooperation on projects and the categorisation of journals.
"That team will also coordinate cooperation in joint teaching, given that we have lecturers who, on the one hand, are present in Banja Luka but originate from Serbia, and vice versa," Balint added.