On that occasion, Brnabic pointed out that our country is the right place for investing in biotechnology and artificial intelligence, pointing out that Serbia has a professional workforce and that the government is investing more than ever in education and road infrastructure.
The Prime Minister reminded that the Financial Times published a report in which six local governments in Serbia are among the 10 best investment places.
She expressed her gratitude to the EBRD for the past cooperation and assistance in the construction of science and technology parks, adding that the goal is for the Serbian economy to be driven by technology.
Serbia has completely changed in the last 10 to 12 years. Our GDP is now worth almost €70 billion, and we expect it to be €100 billion by 2027, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister pointed out that our country individually attracts more investments than all other countries in the Western Balkans region, stressing that last year Serbia had a record inflow of foreign direct investments of €4.5 billion, which is more than four times more than 10 years ago.
The Prime Minister stated that in the decade behind us, 550,000 new jobs were created, and this was also thanks to the provision of assistance to startups and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Last year was a record year in terms of issuing work permits for foreign nationals. We issued a total of 52,000, while that number in 2015 was only 6,300, Brnabic said, noting that these data refer to central Serbia without the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, which is part of the territory of our country.
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso gave the opening speech, and President of the European Council Charles Michel and Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, addressed the participants via video link.