17. July 2021.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, met in Vienna with representatives of the Austrian-Serbian Economic Forum and invited them to come and invest in Serbia.

The Minister acquainted the businessmen with the results of economic and fiscal consolidation in Serbia, as well as with the investment climate.

The Minister also referred to the situation during the corona virus pandemic, emphasizing that the main tasks during the last 18 months were to preserve public health and the economy.

Selaković also informed the attendees about the numerous measures of assistance that the Government brought in order to preserve the Serbian economy in these difficult moments.

"During 2020, the year of the corona, Serbia had a growth of minus 0.5 percent and we were the best in Europe, and during the first 6 months of this year, we recorded a growth of 8 percent", the minister said.

He especially spoke about the fact that Serbia has provided four vaccines against the corona virus for its citizens and informed that 50% of the adult population has been immunized so far.

He also said that Serbia showed solidarity and donated more than 240,000 vaccines to its neighbors, as well as that we invited the citizens of B&H and Northern Macedonia to come and get vaccinated in Serbia for free.

Speaking about the cooperation between Serbia and Austria, Selaković expressed special satisfaction with the fact that Austria is the second largest investor in the Serbian economy, that it has invested more than two and a half billion euros in the last 10 years, and that 733 Austrian companies operate in Serbia, employing 22,000 people.

The Minister also referred to the conversation with the Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, which was also attended by representatives of four Austrian companies operating in Serbia, and said that he had received information about new companies that are ready to come to our country.

He mentioned the importance of the fact that Serbia was the first in the region to introduce informatics as a compulsory subject for primary school students and the fact that this year we had the first generation of 67,000 primary school graduates who went through the system of such education.

Selaković especially pointed this out, saying that in business circles, Serbia is perceived as a country of agriculture, which it is, but that now the IT industry in Serbia is very strong and occupies a very important place.

Selaković ended his address by emphasizing that the cooperation between Serbia and Austria is very good, that it has a tendency of further growth, and he invited everyone present to come to Belgrade and Serbia.