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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia’s successful promotion to lure foreign investors

Belgrade, 2 August 2004

Director of the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) Jasna Matic gave an interview for Politika daily regarding the Agency’s activities, non-returnable means that the EU allocated for Serbian companies for export marketing, attracting foreign investment and promoting Serbia on foreign markets. The government’s official website brings excerpts from the interview.

“SIEPA’s task is to assure foreign investors that Serbia is a country worth investing in. At the same time, we also help the Serbian companies to overcome certain obstacles awaiting them on foreign markets, we provide them with necessary information on terms of business management in certain countries, customs legislation, ways of packaging products, contents of labels, fairs where they can present themselves, and how to promote their products in the best possible way,” SIEPA director says.

Apart from expert counseling, what other services do you provide?

“The Agency received a €2.5 million assistance from the EU to carry out a series of projects envisioned in the export promotion programme. Of that sum, 1.4 million was set aside as non-returnable assistance to Serbian companies for the needs of export marketing, developing the system and certificates of quality, market research, etc. More than 150 enterprises from Serbia applied for to compete. The first sums were distributed. The highest amount given to one company does not exceed €50,000.”

It is necessary to promote Serbia…

“There will be no progress without foreign investments. When a potential investor arrives in Serbia, he sees the time as crucial factor. If he has to ‘make war’ with our bureaucracy, he’ll go and search for another country. That’s why we, at the Agency, are trying to collect the answers to all questions and to help the foreigners to implement their projects as sooner as possible. It is necessary that we have good legislations as well as good judicial system. Inaccurateness and inefficiency of courts cause investors to give up their planned projects.”