Guests from Belgrade visit Mayor Hadžibajrić: Twinning with Stari Grad

A delegation from the City Municipality of Stari Grad Belgrade, led by Mayor Marko Bastać, is on an official visit to the Municipality of Stari Grad Sarajevo. The visit was organized with the desire to develop the connection between the two municipalities, believing that strengthening bilateral ties could contribute to the development of further mutual understanding, friendship, and cooperation. The intention to twin the two oldest municipalities of Sarajevo and Belgrade was expressed, along with close cooperation in the fields of culture, education, and student exchanges.

In addition to Mayor Bastać, the visit to Stari Grad also includes the President of the Assembly of Stari Grad Belgrade, Mila Popović, and a councilor of the City Municipality of Stari Grad, Aleksandar Todorović. The delegation was received today by the Mayor of the Municipality of Stari Grad, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, with his associates, and the President of the Municipal Council, Jusuf Pušina, with his deputies, Irfan Čengić and Sanela Dragolovčanin.

The guests were shown a promotional film about the Municipality of Stari Grad, after which Mayor Hadžibajrić briefly introduced them to the municipality and highlighted the municipalities and cities with which twinning relations have been established so far.

- The Municipality of Stari Grad has so far twinned with 23 municipalities, and I am pleased with this initiative to formalize relations with the Municipality of Stari Grad from Belgrade. Our cooperation with twinned municipalities has so far been reflected in the implementation of joint projects in the fields of infrastructure, culture, and education. I expect that we will soon be able to establish cooperation with the Municipality of Stari Grad Belgrade in the field of education and student exchange - said Hadžibajrić.

The Deputy President of the Municipal Council, Irfan Čengić, stated that he visited the President of the City Municipality of Stari Grad Belgrade, Marko Bastać, a few months ago and proposed twinning.

- We met a few months ago, and that's when the idea of twinning emerged. Our two municipalities are not 'economic giants' to be able to achieve greater cooperation in the economy, but we can cooperate in the cultural and educational spheres. We can arrange for young people from Sarajevo to travel to Belgrade, and from Belgrade to come to Sarajevo, to restore the Sebilj in Skadarlija, which was placed there during the Olympics, and so on - said Čengić.

Bastać agreed with these ideas and also highlighted the possibility of joint applications for European Union funds.

- I hope that we will formalize our twinning in Belgrade in the coming months. We have so far established twinning relations with municipalities from Macedonia, Cyprus, Slovenia, Montenegro, Poland... - said Bastać. He emphasized that cooperation is important for the exchange of experiences, but also for joint projects.

- Currently, with our twinned city Lablin from Poland, we are applying for a project worth two million euros. I hope that we will also work on joint projects with the Municipality of Stari Grad, especially since our municipalities have so many similarities in terms of culture and history - said Bastać.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stanimir Vukićević, also attended today's meeting.

- I belong to a generation that remembers that 'Baščaršija Nights' were once organized in Belgrade and 'Skadarlija Nights' in Sarajevo, and that is why I am very pleased that these two municipalities will be twinned, as I hope that this cooperation will be revived and gain a new dimension - said Ambassador Vukićević.

The guests from Belgrade were interested in the projects implemented in Stari Grad, so after the meeting, they visited the newly opened Center for Healthy Aging – a joint project of the Municipalities of Stari Grad and Centar, as well as the Center for Promotion and Health Improvement on Obala Kulina bana, where they had the opportunity to see how work is done with the elderly. Due to the large number of citizens of this age group in their municipality as well, discussions were held on ways to initiate similar projects in the Municipality of Stari Grad Belgrade.