Mali: Serbia registering positive growth rates

PARIS - In spite of the corona virus pandemic and the current energy crisis, Serbia has been, and is, succeeding in registering positive growth rates, as indicated by last year's 2.5 pct GDP growth, Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said in Paris on Tuesday.

The plan is for Serbia's GDP to exceed 100 bln euros in 2027, Mali said at a meeting of a Serbia-France business council.

A Serbian delegation headed by President Aleksandar Vucic is visiting France.

"As the president has said, we are keeping our debt-to-GDP ratio under control and it was 47.7 pct in March, while now it is at 48.5 pct. According to our conservative estimates, the public debt will never exceed 55-56 pct. As you have heard, French companies employ more than 11,000 people in Serbia," Mali said.

"The unemployment rate is at a record-low 9 pct. By comparison, it was 25.9 pct in 2012," he noted.

Serbia wants to have more investments and create more jobs, he said, adding that the country was breaking records every year.

He noted that Serbia had proven to be an extremely attractive investment destination, in part, due to French companies investing in the country.

"If you speak with the investor community, they will tell you that Serbia's public finances are already on the level of investment-grade rating, and we want that to stay that way," Mali said.

Outlining the Serbia 2027 programme, Mali said Serbia wanted to find ways of continued economic growth.

"We are planning to invest around 18 bln euros in the next 3-3.5 years just to accomplish our objective of GDP reaching 100 bln euros in 2027," he said.

Speaking about major projects, Mali highlighted the BIO4 project, the largest biotech campus under construction in Serbia and southeastern Europe, and said it would completely transform the prospects of the AI industry and IT innovation in the whole region.

"We are building a high-speed rail network in Serbia - the section to Novi Sad is already complete, as you know," Mali also said.

"The section to the Hungarian border will be completed by the end of the year. We will also build a high-speed rail line to Nis and the border with North Macedonia. That is the backbone of future development as far as the industry is concerned, and we will continue to do that," he said.

He said investing in green transition, energy and agriculture was essential for Serbia.

"We fought hard last year to get (to host) EXPO 2027. We fended off competition from the US, Argentina, Thailand and Spain, and Serbia will be the centre of the world in 2027. We are planning huge infrastructure works in that regard, not only in Belgrade but across Serbia as well," Mali said.