Belgrade, June 24th

This year’s National Day of St. John the Baptist, traditionally organized by the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Belgrade, was honored by the participation of the President of Parliament, Maja Gojković.
At the picturesque setting of the National Theatre, in the presence of 550 people and more from institutional, religious, diplomatic and cultural backgrounds, Ambassador Alberto di Luca has addressed his greetings on behalf of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Order, Fra ‘Matthew Festing, emphasizing the excellent relations between the Order of Malta and Serbia and the continuous successful development of bilateral cooperation.
The Ambassador di Luca has also focused on the important project “Make a WISH”, dedicated to girls and boys affected by the floods of May 2014, highlighting the importance of collaboration with other countries, in particular with the Principality of Monaco where, on June 19th, was held a charity fund raising dinner which has achieved the amount of € 100,000 worth of possibly realizable WISHES expressed by the children in their letters to the Embassy of the Order in Belgrade.
The baritone Carlo Guelfi and soprano Micaela Carosi have then charmed the large audience – that stood in ovation for several minutes- with their masterful interpretation of “Tosca” by Giacomo Puccini, under the musical leadership of Maestro Dejan Savic.
A great success for this splendid Opera, special one time performance, that has been proposed to lovers of classical music in Serbia by the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta on the occasion of its National Day.
At the end of the Opera, in the foyer, the guests toasted to the friendship between Serbia and the Order of Malta and to the success of many initiatives that the Embassy in Belgrade organized over the past year: from the supply of large quantities of food and clothing to important medical equipment donated to the Hospital KBC Zvezdara; from the new edition of “A hot meal on a cold winter” to the project “Make a WISH to the Sovereign Order of Malta”, attracting so much interest and support in the country.
Alongside the President of Parliament, Maja Gojkovic, were also present many MPs, including the Chairman of the Group of friendship between Serbia and the Order of Malta, and Vice President of Parliament, Hon. Vladimir Marinkovic.
Together with the Apostolic Nuncio representing the Holy See, H.E. Msgr. Orlando Antonini, were present many Ambassadors and diplomats accredited to Belgrade: H.E. the Ambassador of Albania, Ilir Bocka; H.E. the Ambassador of Australia, Julia Alice Patricia FEENEY; H.E. the Ambassador of Belarus, Vladimir CHUSHEV; H.E. the Ambassador of Brazil, Sergio Luis CANAES; H.E. the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ranko Škrbić; H.E. the Ambassador of Bulgaria, Angel Simeonov DIMITROV; H.E. the Ambassador of Canada, Philip Herbert Pinnington; H.E. the Ambassador of Egypt, Menha Mahrous Bakhoum; H.E. the Ambassador of Montenegro, Branislav Micunovic; H.E. the Ambassador of Morocco, Abdellah ZEGOUR; H.E. the Ambassador of Romania, Daniel BANU; H.E. the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Alexander Chepurin; H.E. the Ambassador of Slovakia, Ján VARŠO; Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Germany, Michael Hasenau, and Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Ukraine, Yevheniia Filipenko.
The proximity to cultural institutions was witnessed by the President of the Academy of Arts, Dusan Djokovic.
Very welcomed guests were also the Princess Elizabeth Karadjordjevic, the director of the Hospital KBC Zvezdara, Dr Aleksandra Arandjelovic, the CEO of Generali Insurance, Dott. Andrea Simoncelli, the director of the daily newspaper Politika, Ljiljana Smailovic and director of RTS, Dragan Bujosevic.