Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said that the new report on the global investment climate for 2021 of the US State Department, in which Serbia was highly rated, is another proof of the proper economic policy that is being implemented, and that the key to progress in numerous investments is despite the crisis caused by the pandemic, they are not bypassing Serbia.
The Minister said that the achieved results, especially when it comes to financial discipline and financial stability, provide additional encouragement and hope that Serbia will make even more progress, the Ministry of Finance announced.
“As the State Department assessed, the security and stability we have achieved, along with the country’s excellent strategic position, quality and educated workforce, investment incentives and free trade arrangements, primarily with the EU, certainly represent a winning combination, in which they primarily gain citizens of our country,” said Mali.
He mentioned that the opening of factories also creates new jobs, which leads to better competitiveness and an increase in the living standard of citizens.
“Economic progress must be balanced on the entire territory of our country, and never greater infrastructural investments will help in that. Only by the end of the year, we will have four more highways under construction, so that there will be a total of eight highways under construction,” Mali pointed out.
According to him, in parallel with the construction of roads, railways are being built, as well as the construction of water supply and sewerage network throughout Serbia, which is an additional incentive for foreign direct investments.
Mali also reminded that he is not giving up on the implementation of the “Serbia 2025” plan, which, as he assessed, leads to a significant improvement in the standard of living, opening Serbia even more for domestic and foreign investments.
The Minister pointed out that the investment climate in Serbia has significantly improved in recent years, which was contributed by the change of key regulations, but also by the domestic and responsible economic policy.
“In addition to preserving fiscal stability and initiatives that encourage growth, such as never greater public investment, the intention to reduce the tax burden has been recognized. Measures to help citizens and the economy, which are still being implemented, are also unavoidable,” Mali emphasized.
He said that thanks to the third aid package this year, for which about 2.2 billion euros were set aside, Serbia preserved jobs and the economy.
“At the same time, public finances are stable and under control despite the turmoil on the international scene, bearing in mind that we are maintaining a low deficit, while fiscal space is being used to support economic growth. The public debt is at a level below 60 percent of the gross domestic product, as prescribed by the Maastricht Treaty,” the Minister explained.
Mali added that the excellent cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is exclusively of an advisory nature, is of special importance.
“Capital holders have recognized the significant changes that have taken place in our country in previous years and that have contributed to the improvement of the business environment. We expect that we will establish even better cooperation with the United States and further improve investments from that country,” said Mali.
He pointed out that much is expected from the additional development of the capital market in Serbia, especially green bonds, which will be especially interesting to foreign investors, and that the details will be known after the adoption of the Capital Market Development Strategy, which is expected in September this year.
“Thus, we will improve the offer of financial instruments and at the same time increase domestic and foreign investments even more. That necessarily leads to further growth of GDP, growth of our economy, and thus growth of salaries and pensions,” concluded Mali, N1 reports.
