Serbian Economic Summit opens in Belgrade

Serbian Economic Summit opens in Belgrade

The idea was to organize a breakfast for business leaders tabling Serbia's faster economic progress, but the original plans were changed after the floods, and we are here to exchange opinions and ideas on the best way to help Serbia in dealing with the aftermath of the flooding, said Simeon Tsomokos, the president of TGI Group which is the traditional organizer of the Summit.

Toplica Spasojević, president of ITM Group which is the co-organizer of the Summit, said that the flooding had a strong effect on the Serbian economy and the lives of ordinary people.

"Our government needs to prepare well for the forthcoming donor conference. The damage will probably stand around EUR 2 billion, which is about six percent of GDP. Additional six percent on an already weakened economy," Spasojević said.

Although the final damage assessment has not been completed yet, the greatest damage was probably suffered by agriculture, and for the reason the Serbian government was presented at the working breakfast by Minister of Agriculture Snezana Bogoslavljević.

French Ambassador to Serbia Francois Deniau, one of the co-organizers of the future donor conference for dealing with the consequences of floods, said that it is important to complete the damage assessment report as soon as possible, adding that Bosnia-Herzegovina has already finished its report.

He underlined that he wants the donor conference to be successful in a quantitative sense, but also in terms of quality so as to reach far-fetching conclusions, such as the conclusions on climate change, water management and risk management.

The two-day summit whose theme this year is "Recovery - Steps to Growth" brought together more than 400 participants.

Tony Verheijen, the World Bank Country Manager for Serbia, stated that the floods should not postpone reforms, adding that the reforms and flood recovery should be simultaneous.

He underlined that the Bank is helping the damage assessment, stressing that it will also offer financial assistance either through reallocation of current loans or new loans.

Officials of international financial institutions said that at the moment it is important to wait for the damage assessment, so that it could be later presented at the donor conference.

Andreas Beikos, head of the European Investment Bank for the Western Balkans, said that the EIB has already sent experts to Serbia to assess damage, and the Bank will also reallocate the loans that have already been granted for more urgent projects.

EBRD Country Director for Serbia Matteo Patrone said that the bank is ready to carry out reallocation of the loans for projects for the country's recovery.

We will grant the funds soon. Recently, for instance, we have conferred with the heads of Serbian Railways, and a part of the funds could be reallocated for flood-hit areas. The amount stands at EUR 30 million, he said.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Oscar Benedict said that Serbia could count on the EU mechanisms in case floods, adding that in just a few hours more than 22 countries and over 600 equipped people lent a helping hand.

This EU mechanism for emergency situations is an important factor, and although Serbia is not a member of the mechanism, it was treated as it were, he said, adding that it can count on EUR 30 million from IPA funds from 2012.