The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikola Selaković, opened the exhibition "Serbia and the Vatican 1878-1914" tonight at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

Selaković said that the exhibition testifies to the rich hundred-year history of diplomatic relations between Serbia and the Holy See, emphasizing that the foundations of our relations are strong, deep and based on common values and interests.

Addressing the audience, the minister said that since the beginning of its modern statehood, Serbia has sought to establish effective communication with the Holy See in order to resolve the issue of relations between Christians in this part of the world in a peaceful and contemporary manner, in accordance with advanced Serbian constitutional solutions from the 19th century.

"I remind you that since the Sretenje Constitution, the citizens of Serbia of the Roman Catholic faith have enjoyed full religious rights and freedoms", said the minister, adding that the Serbian people have shared living space with other peoples and denominations for centuries, as well as that this area was many times the scene of conflicts that often had a religious dimension.

"Cooperation with the Holy See was of great importance in order to resolve open issues among Christians in this area in a peaceful and Christian way", the minister pointed out.

Selaković stated that even today, Serbia and the Holy See are developing cooperation based on understanding, especially emphasizing that the position of the Holy See regarding the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija is of great importance for our country.

"Fighting for the preservation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty in Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia insists that the cultural heritage in our southern province is not only Serbian, but that it is the heritage of Christian Europe", the minister said, emphasizing that the Christian foundations of Europe cannot be preserved without a minimum of all-Christian unity and cohesion

In addition to the head of Serbian diplomacy, the Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States, Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher, as well as the Ambassador of Serbia to the Holy See, Sima Avramović, addressed the audience.

The exhibition was attended by ambassadors of numerous countries accredited to the Holy See, from: Russia, Great Britain, Turkey, Spain, Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, Panama, Angola, Georgia, Czech Republic, Neatherland, Australia, Cameroon and Nicaragua, as well as charge d'affaires of the embassies of USA, Romania,  Montenegro, Croatia and Albania.