Mali: Serbia a safe and secure country to invest in

BELGRADE - Serbia is the only Western Balkan country and the only EU membership candidate with an investment-grade credit rating and it is safe and secure to invest in, Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Friday.

"The state of our public finances is better than ever. If you look at the latest figure from Q3 last year, Serbia is Europe's second-fastest-growing economy. Last year we had a projected 3.8 pct growth rate and we will be going even faster this year," Mali told a panel at a Serbia-Italy business forum at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade.

He said Serbia's objective was for the national GDP to pass the 100 bln euro mark by 2027, when the country will host EXPO 2027.

He said Serbia's debt-to-GDP ratio was at just 44.1 pct, compared to as much as 89 pct in the euro zone.

"What is particularly important is that Serbia's unemployment rate is lower than ever and its employment rate is higher than ever. Last year we had almost 5.2 bln euros worth of FDI, we are the absolute leader in the region as more than 60 pct of all FDI coming to the Western Balkan region is coming to Serbia," Mali noted.