Serbia gets "first economic diplomats"

Serbia has economic diplomats for the first time – experts that will work on establishing economic cooperation with foreign countries, a Belgrade daily writes. Twenty-eight candidates were selected, who will take on responsibilities in the spring in most EU countries, the region, Russia, Ukraine, America, Canada and Japan. Serbia gets "first economic diplomats" The tasks of these economic diplomats will be to survey the markets of the countries they are located in, as well as the business practices and laws, and to present possibilities on the Serbian market to foreign investors. “For the first time in the state administration a very clear and transparent election process was implemented. The commission that selected them was non-partisan, made up of experts from the economy, foreign affairs and other ministries. For the 28 positions, there were 326 candidates. We selected the best,” President of the Commission for Electing Economic Diplomats, Jelena Marjanovic, told daily Blic. She said that the trial period for the candidates took six months, and they had to show a high level of knowledge in the fields of industry, economy and international relations. “The commission did not look at what parties the candidates came from, nor were they interested in the political orientation of the candidates – those were not the parameters for selection. I wish to say that none of the members of the commission are members of parties,” she said. The Serbian budget will set aside RSD 258.5mn for this project. The greatest interest by the candidates was shown for Athens and Milan, for which 106 and 105 applied, respectively. Slightly smaller numbers were seen for Ljubljana, Chicago and Brussels. The "economic diplomatic" team will be made up of "19 men and 19 women", Blic writes.

Serbia gets "first economic diplomats"

The tasks of these economic diplomats will be to survey the markets of the countries they are located in, as well as the business practices and laws, and to present possibilities on the Serbian market to foreign investors.

“For the first time in the state administration a very clear and transparent election process was implemented. The commission that selected them was non-partisan, made up of experts from the economy, foreign affairs and other ministries. For the 28 positions, there were 326 candidates. We selected the best,” President of the Commission for Electing Economic Diplomats, Jelena Marjanović, told daily Blic.

She said that the trial period for the candidates took six months, and they had to show a high level of knowledge in the fields of industry, economy and international relations.

“The commission did not look at what parties the candidates came from, nor were they interested in the political orientation of the candidates – those were not the parameters for selection. I wish to say that none of the members of the commission are members of parties,” she said.

The Serbian budget will set aside RSD 258.5mn for this project.

The greatest interest by the candidates was shown for Athens and Milan, for which 106 and 105 applied, respectively. Slightly smaller numbers were seen for Ljubljana, Chicago and Brussels. The "economic diplomatic" team will be made up of "19 men and 19 women", Blic writes.