A formal meeting was held at the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports between Minister Sofia Zacharaki and the Minister of Sports of the Republic of Serbia, Zoran Gajić.

The ministers of the two countries agreed on the full utilisation of the Greece–Serbia Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Sports, which was signed in March 2026 by Deputy Minister of Sports Giannis Vroutsis and Zoran Gajić. In particular, they agreed to strengthen cooperation between the two ministries, with the aim of further upgrading school and university sports.

Sofia Zacharaki placed particular emphasis on enhancing cooperation between schools and higher education institutions in the two countries, as well as on developing organised exchange programmes for pupils and university students, with sports at their centre. In this context, the two ministers discussed the prospect of creating joint summer sports programmes (Summer Schools / Summer Camps), which would enable students from Greece and Serbia to participate in shared educational and cultural activities, as well as joint sports events.

The Minister also presented the reforms introduced by the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports regarding the promotion of Physical Education at all levels of education. She referred to the emphasis placed on the renovation of sports facilities, particularly school sports facilities, through the “Marietta Giannakou” programme, as well as the upgrading of sports equipment, strengthening opportunities for physical activity among the student community.

In addition, Sofia Zacharaki spoke about the implementation of the “I Am Inspired – I Exercise – I Thrive” programme, which aims to provide psychosomatic support to students and strengthen swimming instruction as part of Physical Education classes. During the 2025–2026 school year, the programme benefited a total of 52,000 third- and fourth-grade primary school students across the country.

Special reference was also made to supporting school sports through the strengthening of school championships and student participation in international school competitions. At the same time, it was highlighted that, through a legislative initiative by Minister Sofia Zacharaki, the connection between school and university sports was institutionalised, enhancing continuity and the development of students’ athletic careers.

On behalf of Serbia, the Minister of Sports expressed his gratitude to the Greek Government for its longstanding support of his country’s European path, as well as his willingness to further strengthen strategic cooperation in the fields of education and sports.

Zoran Gajić presented the initiatives being implemented in Serbia to support school sports, highlighting the broad participation of students in various athletic activities. The Serbian Minister also referred to cooperation between Greek and Serbian universities in matters relating to physical education.

The Serbian delegation included the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Greece, Nikola Nedeljković; the President of the Olympic Committee of Serbia, Dejan Tomašević; Serbian National Assembly MP and Artistic Director of the Opera of the National Theatre of Belgrade, Ljubica Vraneš; and the Secretary General of the Olympic Committee of Serbia, Dejan Bojović.