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YUGOSLAV ENVOY IS
A GOOD COOK
Mr Gojko Sekulovski Help
Mr Gojko Sekulovski
Yugoslavia's first Ambassador
to Australia, Mr Gojko Sekulov
ski, is above all, a man of
warmth, sincerity and humour.
Mr Sekulovski, 42, arrived in
Australia on Friday and reached
Canberra at 10.30am yesterday to
open a new phase of diplomatic
relations between this country and
Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia has been represented
here since 1949 by a Consul Gene
ral based in Sydney.
Mr Sekulovski, a former Mem
ber of Parliament and Minister for
Education and Cultural Affairs for
Macedonia, has three long-term
and one short-term projects to
work on in Canberra. .
His short-term project is to find
an embassy. "I have only been in
Canberra for a few hours - so I
do not yet know where the best
place for an embassy would be",
he said. "It would not have to be
very large as there will be a staff
of only four".
The long-term projects are to
promote cultural exchanges, to
ease his country's trade imbalance
with Australia and to negotiate a
better deal for Yugoslav migrants
here.
On immigration, he said, "Most
Yugoslavs who have come here in
the past have not known much
about what to expect regarding em
ployment opportunities, living stan
dards, transferring money, social
services and the like.
"Australia has agreements with
other countries on these matters
and I would like to see the same
thing operating with us.
"It would be better for the mi
grants and better for Australia,
because after all they would be
better workers if they were coming
to work at skills they knew.
He was enthusiastic about cultu
ral exchange. "There are so many
things in Australia which should be
seen in Yugoslavia and vice versa".
On trade relations, Mr Sekulov
ski was equally emphatic. "We buy
$20 million worth of wool and
leather from Australia each year
while our exports to your country
are only worth about $400,000 a
year".
Two children
Discussing himself the ambassa
dor almost apologetically admitted
he was not a sportsman.
"Hunting, swimming and fishing
are about as far as I go", he said.
"My main hobby is books, and yes,
I like cooking, I am a good cook.
Our cooking is more difficult than
yours and more spicey".
Mr Sekulovski's daughter, Jana,
19, has finished her secondary edu
cation end has studied music. Her
father would now like to see her
study nuclear physics, probably at
the Australian National University.
Fifteen-year-old Stojan will go to
high school here. "I do not think
they will have problems with the
language, but we will see", said the
ambassador with a grin.
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