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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Kostunica calls on Hungarian businesspeople to invest in Serbia

Belgrade, 26 May 2005

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said today at the Business Forum of Serbian and Hungarian businesspeople that the meeting will contribute to the Hungarian guests getting acquainted with opportunities that Serbia has to offer and expressed his belief that Hungarian companies will find it in their interest to invest in Serbia for the needs of Hungarian, Serbian or other markets.

The Serbian government’s official website presents Vojislav Kostunica’s speech:

“It is my great pleasure to greet you in Belgrade, in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. On behalf of the Serbian government, I especially greet Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány and all members of the Hungarian delegations, officials and businesspeople of both countries.

It is my pleasure to be able to great you only several days after Serbia hosted a meeting that sent an invitation to European investors and businesspeople. Your visit is thus part of our country’s efforts to connect economically and institutionally, not only in the region, but also in the whole of Europe.

Allow me to reiterate the importance of Hungary as a neighbouring country, Serbia’s important political and economic partner. I wish to use this occasion to stress that complete bilateral relations are good, which is confirmed by intensive dialogue on the political and economic level.

Hungary is traditionally among Serbia’s top ten export partners. Exchange of goods has been conducted for years through harmonised trade and economic relations, with the constant trend of increasing the scope of trade, but also with present deficit on our side. The trade exchange between the two countries in recent years has been between $300 million and $500 million. I hope we share the same opinion in terms of the necessity to balance the exchange of goods between the two countries, primarily by increasing our exports.

It is positive that the signing of the Agreement on Economic Cooperation provides continuity for developing bilateral trade and economic relations.

A special segment of these relations is intensifying participation of the Hungarian capital in the Serbian economy, bearing in mind that the Serbian government defined as one of its priorities creating a business friendly environment for luring a quality foreign investor, including Hungarian business partners. I am sure that this meeting will help you learn more about opportunities that Serbia has to offer and that Hungarian companies will find reasons to invest in Serbia for the needs of the Hungarian, Serbian and third markets. That is why I invite you, respected gentlemen, to join with the Serbian economy because such cooperation can surely be our common business success.

I use this opportunity to welcome Hungary's initiative to approve additional loans to Serbia-Montenegro and I expect that the realisation of this credit line of the Hungarian Eksim Bank will take place by the end of the year.

In order to round up the legislation on economic cooperation, in addition to the Agreement whose role I have just described, it is necessary that the issues concerning all forms of transport be institutionally regulated.

Of course, the priorities are the completion of the Belgrade-Budapest highway, which is part of Corridor 10, the normalisation of navigation on the Danube River, which is on Corridor 7, and the modernisation of the common railway traffic.

Nine border crossings have been opened between the two countries. The reconstruction of the Reska-Horgos crossing has been completed, as well as of the Tompa crossing on the Hungarian side, with the aim of improving the efficiency of customs work and quicker flow of vehicles at this important transit route. This will contribute to intensifying international and inter-regional trade.

As part of this, there is a series of projects for boosting trans-border cooperation that are being implemented by the two countries' ministries, in association with the EU. The purpose of the projects is reducing differences between border areas of the two countries, strengthening capacities at the local level for development planning and improving regional cooperation.

In addition to improving economic cooperation, our next priority in bilateral relations is full cooperation and support of Hungary in the process of Serbia-Montenegro's accession into European and Euro-Atlantic integrations, bearing in mind that Serbia-Montenegro recently received the positive assessment of the Feasibility Study.

Our border with Hungary is also a border with the EU. For that reason, businessmen of both countries see that as an advantage, and not an obstacle to their connecting because both countries can have access to two large markets.

Finally, just like Hungary, we are also interested in encouraging all forms of regional cooperation. For that reason, the preparation of such joint activities aimed at the development of bilateral economic relations through organisation of business meetings, exchange of business information, cooperation in the participation in fairs, exhibitions and seminars prepared by Serbia and Hungary, are a necessary precondition for making serious business ties as the first step of integration processes.

Respected businessmen, I am sure that during your stay in Belgrade and the upcoming talks, you will concretise interests and modalities of business cooperation so that at the next meeting of this kind we could speak about positive results that will surely be achieved in the meantime," Kostunica said.

The Business Forum of Serbian and Hungarian businessmen is being held at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and is being attended by representatives of 18 Hungarian companies, led by Vice President of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jeno Radetzky.

Hungarian businessmen arrived in Belgrade as part of a two-day visit of the Hungarian political and business delegation to Serbia-Montenegro, led by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány.