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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Economic integration of crucial importance for countries of region

Belgrade, 26 March 2015

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic pointed today at the opening of the regional conference “Business people from more than six countries in one place” to the necessity of economic integration of the region, and stated that Serbia is completely ready, in the political and economic sense, to open up for the countries of the region.

Economic integration of crucial importance for countries of region

Vucic underlined that the phase of cold relations from the previous period has been overcome and that Serbia is looking to the future and is thinking about progress.

The key words today are stability and the highest level of integration, the Prime Minister said and added that the countries of the region are small countries, with a relatively small number of citizens, as markets they are not big, but as a single market they become much more attractive because of their strength and productivity.

He reiterated that Serbian companies are interested in going out onto the third markets with other companies from the region in order to boost competitiveness.

Vucic said that last year at the meeting in Berlin he noticed that some are not ready to open up to the region, probably for political reasons, and reiterated that Serbia is ready because that opening would mean a lot to all.

The Prime Minister stressed that the economic and political conditions for opening and removing unnecessary barriers have never been better.

Vucic explained that Serbia advocates a higher degree of integration with the countries of the region, so that trucks would not stand at borders for tens and even hundreds of hours, and it also advocates a further facilitation of the flow of people and goods.

The Prime Minister said that Serbia has carried out tough measures in order to recover the economy, but that it is not possible without a stronger regional connectivity and cooperation.

Through cooperation and joint participation on the third markets, the countries of the region could increase exports to imports ratio, including that with the EU.

He recalled that Serbia has trade agreements with the EU, but also with Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey, and added that in the joint participation on the third markets, the fact that some countries have better relations with certain countries could be used as an advantage.

In this regard, Vucic mentioned the Winter Olympics in Sochi and cooperation with Slovenia in the construction industry, and pointed out that this is an example of good cooperation, and that this type of economic integration is crucial for all countries in the region.

The meeting which is being held at the hotel Crowne Plaza in Belgrade is attended by more than 200 executive managers, presidents and members of management boards and owners of some of the most successful companies.

The regional conference “Business people from more than six countries in one place” is being organised by media partners from six countries of the region.