Post of Serbia - Postage stamps in honour of "Francophonie"

7/14/2021

Postage stamps in honour of "Francophonie"

Today, at the PTT Museum, the Post of Serbia organised the promotion of commemorative postage stamps "Francophonie", in honour of the international organisation founded in 1961 in Montreal, aiming to develop academic cooperation within the French language area (AUF – Agence universitaire de la Francophonie), which is of great importance for the development of Francophonie.

The promotion was held in the presence of His Excellency Ambassador of France to Serbia Jean-Louis Falconi, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and Acting Director of the Post of Serbia, Zoran Djordjević.

"We highly appreciate the results of Francophonie, and its work is important and influential in a wide geographical area, as well as in Serbia, which is recognised in the active participation of the state of Serbia in the organisation's platform, as well as in efforts to achieve even stronger and more comprehensive cooperation. With gratitude for everything that has been done so far for the Republic of France, the Organisation and all member countries, we are especially honoured to present today, on the French national holiday, a postage stamp that celebrates common values on which we want to build the present and the future - equality, complementarity and solidarity, on which this friendly organisation rests and operates", said Zoran Djordjević, Acting Director of the Post of Serbia, who congratulated the Ambassador of France Jean-Louis Falconi on the national holiday and presented him with the issue of commemorative postage stamps.

"I want to greet Zoran Djordjević whom I have known for a long time and who is a friend of France. Francophonie is not limited to France - it represents a large family of 300 million people on all continents, which continues to grow, with French being the fifth language in the world, being learnt by 95,000 pupils in Serbia," said Ambassador Jean-Louis Falconi. He added that regarding the historical relations between France and Serbia and the status of Serbia as an associate member of the International Organisation of Fancophonie since 2018, he welcomes the proactive policy of development of Francophonie in Serbia.

The commemorative philatelic issue contains a postage stamp with a face value of 85 dinars printed in counter sheets of ten stamps, a first day cover (FDC) and a commemorative stamp. The issue was prepared in cooperation with the University Library "Svetozar Marković", while the artistic realisation of the issue is the work of Anamari Banjac, the creator of stamps and valuables of the Post of Serbia.