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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Talks on Russia’s loan to Serbia begin tomorrow

Belgrade, 28 October 2009

Serbian Assistant Minister of Finance Zoran Cirovic said today that talks on Russia’s $1 billion loan to Serbia will start tomorrow in Moscow.

In a statement to Tanjug news agency, Cirovic said that the official part of the negotiations will be completed by October 30, but that it is possible that not all conditions will have been defined by then and talks might have to be continued in Belgrade. Serbia is hoping for a soft loan, similar to those obtained from international financial institutions. As an example of a soft loan, he mentioned the recently obtained loan from China for construction of a bridge from Zemun to Borca, payable over 15 years, with a 5-year grace period and 3 percent fixed interest rate. The Serbian delegation has prepared a list of infrastructure projects for which it will ask for loans. It will ask for $200 million for Prokop, $100 million for electrification of the Nis - Dimitrovgrad railway, $150 million for construction of the Valjevo-Loznica railway, $170 million for the ring road around Belgrade, from Orlovaca to Bubanj Potok and $100 million for construction of the Belgrade-Cacak road, which will be part of the Belgrade–South Adriatic road. It remains undecided where to invest the remaining $80 million from the total of $800 million that have been set aside for infrastructural projects, either to invest more into the Belgrade-Cacak road, or into Novi Sad-Horgos highway. As for $200 million that should be approved as support to the budget, Cirovic said that it will probably be a ten-year loan, with a slightly higher interest rate. He explained that the Russian delegation will consist of representatives of the ministries of finance, foreign affairs, economic development, transport and energy. The Russian working group will be headed by president of the Department for international financial relations, state debt and state working assets Konstantin Vishkovsky.