Serbia "predictable partner, to be on right track in 2016"

Serbia "predictable partner, to be on right track in 2016"

Dacic pointed out that the country was "closer to modern Europe and modern world" through the reforms in implements.

"The European Union is not a goal in itself, but the ideal recipe for Serbia," Dacic said. He added that Serbia has made a great historic step forward in the process of joining the European Union.

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic addressed the same conference earlier to say that Serbia will be "nowhere near the bottom in Europe" in the next five years.

He also said that "even after seven years there is no easy and quick way out of the global crisis in sight, but Serbia is on the right path to economic recovery."

"We know that we cannot get out of the global crisis, because we are small, but we must learn to adapt," said Vucic.

He also said that the decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise its key interest rate "will not have a good effect on Serbia's public debt."

According to Vucic, the country can become one of the more developed economies if it solves three key problems - 17 large state-owned companies under restructuring, non-performing loans and the public administration reform, he said.

"If we solve that more or less well, there will be no fear for Serbia's future," Vucic said.

He said that he expects next year to be more successful than 2015 because he expects to see improvement in the business environment, a significantly higher number of investments, bigger spending, private sector growth, more capital projects, privately-funded investments and a Top 40 ranking on the World Bank list, which will generate significantly higher economic growth.

Vucic expects Serbia to finish 2015 with a 0.9 pct growth and have a growth of approximately two percent - or more "if we are lucky with the privatization" - in 2016.

According to announcements, the conference is also attended by UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia Irena Vojackova-Sollorano, UNICEF Representative Michel Saint-Lot and UNHCR Representative Hans Friedrich Schodder, among others.

The participants will discuss "lessons of the migrant crisis, the EU and the future of Serbia, Kosovo and the region's energy prospects," the Serbian government said in a statement.