A foreign policy forum on the Balkans in Belgrade, called the Balkan Dialogue, is being organised by Russia's Alexander Gorchakov Fund for Public Diplomacy, a BGNES reporter reports.
The think tank was founded in 2010 personally by then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The organization is closely linked to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The event will take place between May 13-17.
The discussions will be led by Ekaterina Entina, Doctor of Political Sciences, head of the Center for Black Sea and Mediterranean Studies at the Institute for Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The event will discuss "the civilisational, spiritual and historical multidimensionality of the Balkan space, which allows the countries of the region to pursue a multilateral foreign policy and engage in economic cooperation".
Delegates will discuss how to "build inter-ethnic dialogue and develop unique approaches to it based on the material and diplomatic heritage that the history of the Balkan region provides," according to the announcement on the Fund's website.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bulgaria also promoted the event on its Facebook page.
The programme includes topics such as:
- The Balkans in interregional interaction: China, Africa, Latin America, Russia.
- Influence of Yugoslavia's experience in the Non-Aligned Movement on the foreign policy of contemporary Serbia.
- The problem of information wars through the prism of the Balkan region.
- Challenges and ways of preserving national identity in the Balkan countries. /BGNES
