Đelić urges closer ties with U.S.

Đelić urges closer ties with U.S.

He stressed that “strengthening of economic cooperation between Serbia and the U.S. could influence the political position of the U.S. when it came to resolving the Kosovo status issue.

Đelić added that he told the U.S. business community gathered at Friday’s meeting that Serbia was a “good place for investments.”

Đelić said he assured the U.S. entrepreneurs that “not a single country, including Russia, would be given preferential treatment in the privatization process in Serbia,” government’s web site said after the event.

He said that during the term of the current government, majority shares in public companies such as Serbian oil industry NIS, the electric power corportation EPS and the mobile telephony operator Telekom Serbia would not be sold.

“The experience of other countries, not just those in transition, has shown that it is much better that privatization is done gradually,” Đelić stressed.

According to him, the government wishes to complete the privatization process bearing in mind the long term interest of the state and its citizens, since energy and telecommunications are deemed sectors of strategic importance.