Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali said that Serbia emerges victorious from the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which, he added, would not have been possible without the work and employees of the Kolubara mining basin and EPS.
The Minister pointed out that everyone must be aware that the whole world is going through the biggest and most severe economic crisis ever – tens of millions are unemployed, economies are collapsing, factories are closing.
“Such a blackest scenario did not happen in Serbia. “We came out with the right, comprehensive measures of support for those who need it the most,” said Mali.
He reminded that the state set aside 5.1 billion euros for support, about 11% of GDP, because it accepted that the burden of the crisis would be on its shoulders, considering that it can withstand that, in order for the economy to survive.
Mali added that this would not have happened if it were not for the reforms initiated by Aleksandar Vucic in 2014, which led to the state having healthy and strong public finances and foreign exchange reserves.
The Minister also reminded that the first quarter, Serbia ended with five percent of GDP growth, while in the Eurozone the rate is -3.3 percent, and in the USA even lower, and that it has a good basis and desire to be the first in Europe in terms of growth rate.
Mali said that the next important step is to continue with investments, with the Serbia 2025 project, for which 14 billion has been allocated.
“We want to invest in infrastructure, roads, hospitals, kindergartens, schools, water and sewage network, to build cheap apartments for young people, an average pension of 400 euros, and salaries over 900 euros,” said Mali, Nova reports.
