On 27 March 2025, one of the State Secretaries of the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of Serbia, Miroslav Trajanović, met with the JINR Directorate. The parties discussed the prospects of JINR–Serbia cooperation and outlined the next steps to implement joint initiatives and projects. Representatives of the Serbian delegation participated in a JINR Committee of Plenipotentiaries session and visited the Institute’s laboratories, where they got acquainted with the modern scientific infrastructure.

The delegation of the Republic of Serbia included one of the State Secretaries of the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of Serbia, Miroslav Trajanović, Senior Advisor at the Ministry Svetlana Bogdanović, and Assistant Director at the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences Marija Janković. JINR was represented by the Institute’s Director Grigory Trubnikov, Vice-Director Latchesar Kostov, Chief Engineer of the Institute Boris Gikal, JINR University Centre Director Dmitry Kamanin, and Head of the International Cooperation Department Otilia-Ana Culicov.

Opening the meeting at the Directorate, Grigory Trubnikov noted the significant support provided by the Serbian Ministry of Science to the Joint Institute over the past years. He thanked the guests for coming to Dubna and participating in the work of the JINR Committee of Plenipotentiaries.

“It is a great honour for us to visit the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. This is a unique opportunity not only to get acquainted with JINR’s modern scientific infrastructure, but also to personally see how world science is developing,” State Secretary of the Serbian Ministry of Science Miroslav Trajanović said. “During my time in Dubna, I became convinced that there is an unbelievable concentration of the smartest people here at JINR. It is something to be really proud of”.

He noted the importance of involving young scientists in extensive research and expressed hope that young Serbian specialists would take an active part in joint projects with the Joint Institute.

Grigory Trubnikov spoke about the visit of Director of the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences Slavko Dimović to JINR in February 2025. According to him, both sides expressed their satisfaction with the results of discussion of prospective ideas for future joint projects. “Having extensive expertise and experience in accelerator technologies and the construction of modern research infrastructure, JINR is ready to begin cooperation in infrastructure development as soon as possible,” Grigory Trubnikov emphasised. He noted that the Joint Institute is already creating an expert group consisting of JINR researchers and engineers to participate in the technical assessment of the key infrastructure at the Serbian scientific centre.

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Science introduced Deputy Director of the Vinča Institute Maria Janković as the new coordinator of Serbia–JINR cooperation. She said that the result of Slavko Dimović’s visit to JINR was the prompt establishment of a special committee for the development of accelerator projects at the Vinča Institute, which will work together with the Joint Institute’ expert group.

In addition, Miroslav Trajanović expressed interest in applied research at the NICA Accelerator Complex. The JINR Director invited Serbian scientists to join the ARIADNA Collaboration, which includes research in life sciences, radiation materials science, biomedical applications, applied nuclear technologies, and microelectronics testing.

UC JINR Director Dmitry Kamanin noted the rich history of scientific and educational cooperation between the Joint Institute and Serbia. According to him, Serbia is one of the most active participants in the educational projects of the University Centre, such as START and INTEREST student programmes, international scientific workshops. Dmitry Kamanin highlighted the importance of introducing Serbian universities and research organizations to JINR’s activities.

Maria Janković made a proposal to organize the next, 10th meeting of the JINR–Serbia Joint Coordination Committee in 2025 in order to discuss further steps and sign a new cooperation roadmap.

Following the meeting, the parties confirmed their mutual interest in expanding cooperation and developing a fruitful partnership in science and technology. Grigory Trubnikov informed the delegation that JINR representatives would pay an official visit to Serbia in the coming months to work on a future joint research programme. “JINR will make every effort to achieve our common goals as soon as possible,” the Joint Institute’s Director concluded.

On 25 March, the Serbian delegation participated in a session of the Committee of Plenipotentiaries and attended the ceremony of the initiation of the first run at the NICA Accelerator Complex at the Laboratory of High Energy Physics. In addition, the guests visited the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, the Laboratory of Radiation Biology, and the Laboratory of Neutron Physics.