Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Suzana Grubjesic said that the Serbian economy cannot recover without foreign investments and that Serbia needs to become a trusted destination, with far fewer obstacles for potential investors.
Addressing the participants of a seminar entitled “Great Britain and Serbia: Advancing economic cooperation”, Grubjesic said that furthering economic cooperation with EU member countries, Great Britain included, is one of the government’s priorities.
She said that 80% of all investments in Serbia since 2000 have come from the EU.
Serbia has numerous comparative advantages, but also certain flaws, such as inflexible administrative system with unnecessary regulations, which is why the government has taken a serious of measures to reduce the number of regulations, to fight corruption and to cut down taxes, Grubjesic said.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the economic cooperation is lagging behind the good political relations between the two countries, given the fact that there is only a small-scale commodity exchange, with the deficit on the Serbian side.
Serbian-British economic cooperation falls far below potential, with trade totalling only €250 million last year, she said expressing hope that cooperation could be expanded.
Source Serbian Government
