Following the invitation of Zlatibor Lončar, Minister of Health of the Republic of Serbia, the Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Prince Dominique de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel paid an official visit in Belgrade on December 8, 2016.

The meeting between the two Ministers took place at Palace Serbia, the seat of Government, in a friendly atmosphere. During the discussion, Minister Zlatibor Lončar expressed the Government’s gratitude for the important humanitarian and social activities undertaken in recent years in Serbia by the Embassy of the Order of Malta, with particular reference to the successful project “Make a WISH to the Sovereign Order of Malta” which involved granting hundreds of disadvantaged children and adolescents their wishes in 2015 and 2016. The project is already planning ahead for 2017.

Equal appreciation was expressed for the work of the volunteers of the Order, coordinated by Malteser in Germany and by the Order of Malta Hungarian relief corps for the ill and elderly as well as the recent refugees from Middle Eastern countries in proximity to border with Hungary.

The Grand Hospitaller and the Minister also discussed the possibility of improvements to the current bilateral Humanitarian Agreement, making it more effective.

The visit continued with a meeting with Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, regarding the migration issue. The Minister underlined that the Republic of Serbia had nearly a million migrants passing through the country. The Ambassador of the Order to Serbia, Alberto di Luca, recalled the Order’s support with the distribution of goods, wishing to overcome some administrative barriers in order to improve and facilitate help. The Minister agreed with the support in question.

The Grand Hospitaller and Ambassador Alberto di Luca later received in the Order’s Embassy, the Apostolic Nuncio, Rev. Mons. Luciano Suriani and the catholic Archbishop of Belgrade Rev. Mons. Stanislav Hocevar.