Description
This issue of commemorative postage stamps marks 65 years of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Tunisia. Although official diplomatic relations between our country and the Republic of Tunisia were established in 1957, our people and the people of Tunisia have a long tradition of friendly relations and providing assistance to each other in the most difficult historical moments.
The help of the people of Tunisia to our people in the First World War will never be forgotten. During 1915 and 1916, Tunisia received a large number of Serbian soldiers who were retreating before the Austro-Hungarian offensive. Over 60,000 of our soldiers passed through the Tunisian Lazuaz camp, and from 1915 to 1919, more than 40,000 Serbian soldiers were treated in Tunisian hospitals.
The largest Serbian cemeteries in Tunisia are located in Bizerte and Menzel Bourguiba. The Christian cemetery in Bizerte preserves the remains of our deceased warriors in a memorial ossuary.
Tunisia gained its independence from colonial rule in 1956, and already in 1957, the Republic of Tunisia was proclaimed, with Habib Bourguiba elected as its first president. In the same year, our country established official diplomatic relations with the Republic of Tunisia, and in 1965, the President of the Republic of Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba, became an honorary citizen of Belgrade. The intensive cooperation between the two countries, conceived 65 years ago, nurtured through the Non-Aligned Movement, is the result of the sincere friendship of the two peoples, and in the year when we mark the 65th anniversary of the establishment of official diplomatic relations, the two countries continue on the path of improving cooperation, further intensifying political dialogue and intensifying economic and cultural exchanges.
Motif on the envelope: Sarrath river dam in Tunisa, being consturcted by a Serbian company.
Artistic realization of the issue: Miroslav Nikolić.
