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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

"Little Schengen" only chance for faster growth, development

Belgrade/Berlin, 11 November 2019

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced today that a more stable and predictable Balkans, where there is free movement of people, goods, capital and services, is the only chance to become more competitive and to develop and grow much faster than before.

Brnabic, who participates in the Economic Forum organized by the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Berlin, said that this is why absolute support is needed for the "little Schengen" initiative.

She stressed that Western Balkans cooperation is extremely important, while the 'mini-Schengen' initiative launched by President of the Republic Aleksandar Vucic has been the most important initiative in recent decades.

What is being created as a larger, freer market between Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania, and likely to be joined by other countries in the region, is the right signal to be sent at similar conferences to investors and politicians, she said.

The Prime Minister expressed her satisfaction with receiving the invitation of Süddeutsche Zeitung to participate in the Forum for the second year in a row, as it is a great recognition for the reforms in Serbia.

This year, there is greater interest in how digital transformation is progressing and what the results are, with high praise for what we are doing, especially in reforming the education system, and for opening up research centres in Serbia, Brnabic said.

Serbia, she underlined, is recognised in Europe for IT services, knowledge, young talented people, as a competitive destination for investment in advanced technologies.

Brnabic reminded that Germany is one of the most important economic partners of Serbia, whose companies employ more than 60,000 people in our country, with most of them planning expansion in our market and new employment.

German companies are increasingly opening research and development centers, which we hope will create intellectual property in Serbia in the future and market it from our country, she said.

According to her, it will give a completely different image to our country as an investment destination and will generally affect the growth of salaries, pensions and living standards.