Office for Kosovo and Metohija
Government of the Republic of Serbia

Đurić: Interest of Businesses is to Invest in Kosovo and Metohija

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Đurić said today that the objective of the State is not to invoke political and patriotic reasons in order to pressure the businesspeople to do business in the Province. Instead, their motive should be to make profit by investing in the region, and as a result a better life would be ensured for the population of the southern Province.

The Region of Success project is rooted in businesses seeking financial interest, and not aimed at going back to the guided economy, Đurić underscored at the eponymous round table held at the Palace of Serbia today.

“Purpose of the Region of Success project is not to motivate businesspeople to do something for political considerations or patriotism. Our plan rests on pure commercial and financial interest of the people working towards making profit, thus providing a sustainable foundation for a better life of the inhabitants in our southern Province,” Đurić explained.

Đurić further elaborated on the direct and indirect possibilities for businesspeople to make profit by opening subsidiary companies in Kosovo and Metohija: direct income would come from the improved placement of goods in the Province, while indirect benefit would arise from a series of subsidies to be provided by the State.

Thus, each employee of a subsidiary company in Kosovo and Metohija would, for instance, exempt the parent company from taxes and contributions per an existing employee in the territory of the central Serbia.

Đurić noted that the investors would certainly inquire about the security of investment since some of them had had unpleasant experiences in the past, including usurpation of property, counterfeited goods, etc.

“We still do not have a lasting solution for their anxiety since the bulk of the problems and solutions lies with Priština,” Đurić stated.

According to him, if everybody’s objective is to create minimum conditions for the development of market economy in the area, the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Priština must guarantee the inviolability of property, and administrative obstacles must be removed.

“This is the focus of Serbian political initiatives, which is why suspension of privatisations and investigations of abuses involved in the hitherto privatisation process in majority Serbian communities are included in the coalition agreement of the Serbian List and the majority parties in Priština,” Đurić added.

Đurić described current economic activities and climate in Kosovo and Metohija as grinding to a halt, brimming with unresolved property issues, lacking quality control and being a playfield for disloyal competition.

Đurić underlined that the economic situation in Kosovo and Metohija is extremely adverse and unsustainable, giving possible rise to mass emigration.

“This is what we saw earlier this year in the most recent emigration wave from Kosovo and Metohija,” Đurić explained.

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija pointed out that the Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić has started the stopwatch, and over the next three months intense effort are to be invested in concrete projects ensuring that companies from central Serbia contribute to the development of economy in Kosovo and Metohija.