On 3 October 2023, a JINR delegation met with high-ranking science leaders of the Republic of Serbia in Belgrade. The meeting focused on discussing a wide range of issues related to enhancing the scientific and practical cooperation between JINR and Serbian scientific organizations with the primary goal of gradually advancing Serbia’s status in JINR from an Associate Member to a fully-fledged Member State. The meeting was held alongside the NICA Days 2023 International School that is currently taking place in Serbia.

Participants of the meeting highlighted the great potential for strengthening cooperation in the framework of joint fundamental scientific research in relativistic heavy ion physics as part of the BM@N and MPD experiments at the NICA Accelerator Complex. This includes implementing applied research as part of the ARIADNA Project currently being carried out at the NICA Complex to study life sciences and radiation materials science, test electronics on radiation resistance, and develop advanced nuclear energy technologies. In addition, they outlined great prospects for conducting joint studies in scientific directions such as nuclear medicine and the development and production of microelectronics for scientific research.

Both parties highlighted historically warm and close ties between JINR and Serbia and the positive experience of the participation of specialists from Serbia in the MPD Experiment, in which they study the collective effects in collisions of heavy nuclei through the measurement of multiparticle correlations. Representatives of JINR and Serbia made proposals to increase the mobility of groups of participants in joint research and organize student exchanges to attract young specialists to ongoing research more effectively. In conclusion, a need to schedule regular meetings and maintain constant contacts was noted.

Representing Serbia, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development Vukasin Grozdić, Senior Advisor Svetlana Bogdanović, Director of the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences Snežana Pajović, as well as Acting Assistant Minister for International Cooperation and European Integration Ivana Vukašinović took part in the meeting. JINR was represented by Vice-Director of the Joint Institute Vladimir Kekelidze, VBLHEP JINR Deputy Director for Scientific Work Alexander Sorin, Chairman of the JINR Programme Advisory Committee for Particle Physics Itzhak Tserruya, Chairman of the Council of Institutes of the MPD Collaboration Alejandro Ayala, Head of the MPD collaboration Viсtor Ryabov, as well as a representative of the JINR International Cooperation Department Olga Korotchik.