Committee Chairperson Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski welcomed the guests, saying that this was a big day for her because this is the first time that the majority of Serb municipal presidents and municipal assembly presidents from Montenegro have gathered in the National Assembly House.

The Chairperson went on to say that the Serbian people in Montenegro have been living hard for a long time yet they managed to carry this burden on their shoulders. "Decades of discrimination, political persecution and disenfranchisement did not extinguish the heroic heart in you, on the contrary, they were an incentive to fight and today represent the Serbian people in Montenegro from important and significant positions in the state, not only where you work, but here in Serbia as well", stressed Djurdjevic Stamenkovski. She spoke about the upcoming population census in Montenegro, emphasising that the representatives of the legislative authority and the Serbian leadership respect the sovereignty of Montenegro and will work together to create an atmosphere in which our citizens in Montenegro will express themselves as they feel, without any hesitation or dilemma that they will face discrimination because of it.

The meeting was attended by the Minister without portfolio, in charge of proposing measures and participating in the coordination of activities in the field of relations between the Republic of Serbia and the diaspora, Djordje Milicevic who welcomed the guests with the words: "Welcome to your house".

For the Republic of Serbia, it is of vital interest to take care of its people wherever they may be and the policy of the Government of the Republic of Serbia directed towards the Serbs living in the region is one of the key pillars of our foreign policy, Milicevic concluded.

Developing neighbourly relations with the countries in the region is a priority of Serbia's leadership, respecting our territorial integrity and sovereignty as well as that of all other countries in the region, said the Minister, adding that if there are any open issues, they should only be resolved through dialogue, reaching a fair and compromise solution acceptable to both parties.

Arnaud Guyon, Head of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, highlighted the importance of the work of the Committee on the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region. He said that the position of Serbs in Montenegro is unsatisfactory, although it is better than it used to be. He stressed that discrimination against Serbs is becoming more frequent and has been going on for decades. The political situation in Montenegro is causing discomfort to the Serbian people whose religion and identity is being called into question. The Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region has financed a large number of projects in Montenegro, one of them being the Serbian language school for foreigners in Niksic. He went on to say that the 2023 budget for the diaspora and Serbs in the region is three times larger than the one for 2022.

Emilo Labudovic, Director of "Serbian House" Podgorica, spoke next, highlighting the difficult position of Serbs in Montenegro.

"We have found ourselves in an absurd situation where even as the expression of the will of the people, as the result of freely conducted elections, the representatives of the Serbian people cannot be part of the government at the state level in Montenegro, because we cannot and will not renounce the three greatest sanctities in Montenegro, Serbia, Russia and the Serbian Orthodox Church," underlined Labudovic.

Dr Momcilo Vuksanovic, President of the Serbian National Council of Montenegro, said that the situation in Montenegro is complex and that Serbian organisations were completely excluded from the foundation that provides funds for the preservation of identity, and were it not for the help of the Republic of Serbia, everything would have stopped.

“With the formation of the Serbian National Council of Montenegro, we were able to use those funds and projects to form Serbian media, such as the portal Srpske novine (Serbian newspapers), Srpski radio (Serbian radio), Srpska televizija (Serbian television), Književna zadruga (Literary cooperative), etc.," said Vuksanovic.

Committee Deputy Chairman Milimir Vujadinovic also spoke at the session, pointing out that the Serbian leadership has made great efforts to preserve the national identity, language and culture of our people in Montenegro. He spoke about the upcoming census in Montenegro stressing that it is necessary to, in accordance with the law and European norms, make it possible for every person in Montenegro to express themselves as they want to and feel. He also spoke about to the "Open Balkans" initiative, originating from the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, which is extremely important for connection and cooperation in the Western Balkans.

The meeting was attended by: Marko Kovacevic, President of the Municipality of Niksic, Vesko Delic, President of the Municipality of Mojkovic, Vuko Todorovic, President of the Municipality of Berane, Velimir Djokovic, President of the Municipal Assembly of Danilovgrad, Ivan Otovic, President of the Municipal Assembly of Herceg Novi, Miljan Markovic, President of the Municipal Assembly Tivat, Stefan Sinanovic, Head of the NGO "We know who we are", Gojko Raicevic, information portal editor, Radosav Jokic, Director of the "Society for Equality and Tolerance", editor of the Serbian radio and television in Montenegro.

The officials expressed their views on the topic of the position of Serbs in Montenegro with reference to the upcoming census in Montenegro.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairperson Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski and also attended by Committee Deputy Chairman Milimir Vujadinovic, as well as the following Committee members and deputy members: Sanja Lakic, Dusan Maric, Rodoljub Stanimirovic, Aleksandar Cotric, Radovan Tvrdisic, Nikola Bokan, Radovan Arezina, Jelena Milosevic, Dusan Radosavljevic, MA Ivan Kostic, Momcilo Vuksanovic, Jasmina Karanac and Miodrag Linta.