Israeli Minister of Science and Technology Daniel Hershkowitz and His Excellency Mr Daniel Carmon, Ambassador of Israel, visited the Scientific Computing Laboratory during their stay at the Institute of Physics Belgrade. After a tour of the lab's computing facilities, Prof. Aleksandar Bogojevic informed the guests from Israel about SCL activities and projects, its High Performance Computing infrastructure, the National Supercomputing initiative, and the plans for the Blue Danube supercomputing and data storage facility. Special emphasys was given on the existing ties between SCL and Israeli researchers and institutions (in the use and development of High Performance Computing and in research on strongly correlated quantum systems), as well as on finding ways to further extend this cooperation (particularly within joint collaborations in the Framework Programme).

Before coming to the Institute of Physics Belgrade and SCL the Israeli delegation met with Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister for EU integration and Minister of Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic. The two Ministers of Science and Technology reached agreement on cooperation between Serbia and Israel in science on three levels. The first level implies increased bilateral cooperation, the major partners on the Serbian side to be the Institute of Physics Belgrade and the Mihajlo Pupin Institute, institutions that already have research partnerships with their counterpart institutions in Israel. The second level implies the sending of Israeli consultants for the construction of scientific infrastructure to Serbia, while the third level  of cooperation deals with the sharing of expertise in promoting science to a broader public.

Minister Hershkowitz said that Serbia has the potential to become one of the leading European countries in science and research, affirming Israel's readiness to help it in this respect. There are numerous similarities between our countries, including a lack of natural resources, but an abundance of human ones, Hershkowitz said adding that if a sound plan is devised, Serbia can fulfill this goal.