Member of the City Council in charge of education, Mr. Radomir Dabetić, Assistant Mayor of Novi Sad, Vanja Vučenović, Head of the City Administration for Education, Branko Novaković, and Head of Mayor’s Office, Aleksandar Petrović, welcomed Natalia Cherednichenko, Head of Department of Support to Russian Schools of the Administration for Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, at the Novi Sad City Hall, with whom they discussed the possibilites of cooperation in the field of education.

- It is my great pleasure to have organized this meeting in order to provide the numerous Russian children in Novi Sad with the possibility to attend school based on the Russian curriculum, and also to offer both our and Russian children bilingual education according to the curricula of our Ministry of Education. What we have done so far, in accordance with our competences, is that we have determined the primary school and provided funds for such a teaching program – said Radomir Dabetić.

Head of the City Administration for Education, Branko Novaković, said that the Jovan Popović Primary School has been selected for the project because it has a separate facility in the Veljka Petrovića Street 2, called "Mala škola" (Little School). There is a possibility, as he explained, to expand the capacities, for which the City has provided funding. The project development is in progress and by September this year the school should be expanded and ready for teaching based on the Russian curriculum.

Head of Mayor’s Office, Aleksandar Petrović, emphasized that Novi Sad nurtures exceptional amicable relations with numerous Russian cities, including Nizhny Novgorod, the twin city of Novi Sad, and owing to that very fact Russians are ever more present as partners in important projects in all the areas of social, cultural and economic life.

- By opening these schools, we are expanding the cooperation of Novi Sad and Russian cities – said Vanja Vučenović, adding that this is the start of more concrete cultural and educational exchange which will take place in the coming period and which represents the base for improvement of business and economic cooperation.

Natalia Cherednichenko thanked the host for the warm welcome and support and expressed readiness to undertake necessary measures to start the concrete cooperation in the field of education as soon as possible.

Novi Sad, February 19th, 2014