Ambassador: No quick fix for asylum seekers problem

NOVI SAD German Ambassador Heinz Wilhelm has said that "difficult talks with Serbia lie ahead" to find a way to decrease the number of asylum seekers in his country. Addressing reporters after what the Beta news agency said was his official visit to Vojvodina, the diplomat noted that the subject was difficult for both countries, and that a speedy resolution to the problem should not be expected. Ambassador: No quick fix for asylum seekers problem Solutions should be found through the joint work of the two states, Wilhelm was quoted as saying, and adding: "There is no universal solution or advice that would help solve the problem at this time. In any case, we have a very sensitive and difficult subject on our hands that needs to be worked on." "We are certainly not talking about political immigrants who are applying for asylum (in Germany) for political reasons. This is more about economic immigrants who are trying to reach western Europe and Germany for economic reason," he stated. The ambassador's comments came a day after it was announced in Germany that Serbian citizens topped the list of asylum seekers there. Heinz Wilhelm (Tanjug) Ambassador meets with provincial officials German Ambassador to Serbia Heinz Wilhelm demonstrated on Wednesday, during the talks with the president of the provincial government, Bojan Pajtic, a particular interest in the current political situation in Vojvodina, especially in view of the Serbian Constitutional Court's decisions that refer to the position of the province. The talks also addressed the province's competences, particularly in the field of national minority rights, the provincial government published on its website. Pajtic underscored that in its development program, Vojvodina set a priority to attract foreign investments, in the industry in particular, and recalled that according to the world-renowned Financial Times, Vojvodina is Europe's fourth region in terms of cost-effectiveness of foreign investments. He urged the German ambassador to present German companies with the facts about Vojvodina. This was Wilhelm's first official visit to Vojvodina, after taking office in Serbia. Wilhelm wanted to visit Vojvodina as the best location for German investments, since around 60 percent of German investments in Serbia have been realized in the territory of Vojvodina, the release adds. Beta Tanjug

Ambassador: No quick fix for asylum seekers problem

Solutions should be found through the joint work of the two states, Wilhelm was quoted as saying, and adding:

"There is no universal solution or advice that would help solve the problem at this time. In any case, we have a very sensitive and difficult subject on our hands that needs to be worked on."

"We are certainly not talking about political immigrants who are applying for asylum (in Germany) for political reasons. This is more about economic immigrants who are trying to reach western Europe and Germany for economic reason," he stated.

The ambassador's comments came a day after it was announced in Germany that Serbian citizens topped the list of asylum seekers there.

Ambassador meets with provincial officials

German Ambassador to Serbia Heinz Wilhelm demonstrated on Wednesday, during the talks with the president of the provincial government, Bojan Pajtić, a particular interest in the current political situation in Vojvodina, especially in view of the Serbian Constitutional Court's decisions that refer to the position of the province.

The talks also addressed the province's competences, particularly in the field of national minority rights, the provincial government published on its website.

Pajtić underscored that in its development program, Vojvodina set a priority to attract foreign investments, in the industry in particular, and recalled that according to the world-renowned Financial Times, Vojvodina is Europe's fourth region in terms of cost-effectiveness of foreign investments.

He urged the German ambassador to present German companies with the facts about Vojvodina.

This was Wilhelm's first official visit to Vojvodina, after taking office in Serbia.

Wilhelm wanted to visit Vojvodina as the best location for German investments, since around 60 percent of German investments in Serbia have been realized in the territory of Vojvodina, the release adds.