Serbia is a good investment destination, and this should be capitalized on so that young people would have bright prospects, Minister-President of the German federal state of Hesse Volker Bouffier said in a conversation with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Wiesbaden on Wednesday.
The stable political situation is a prerequisite for advancement of any state as no one would invest in the country in which there is no stability, Bouffier said, accepting Prime Minister Vucic’s invitation to visit Serbia.
The prime minister, who is on a one-day visit to Germany, and the minister-president of the state of Hesse discussed the bilateral relations between Serbia and Germany, the economic cooperation and German investments in Serbia.
“We hope to welcome more investors from your country, as we are doing everything to improve the business climate in Serbia,” the government’s press office quoted Vucic as saying.
This is the second visit to Hesse by a Serbian prime minister. In early December 2002, Hesse welcomed the then prime minister Zoran Djindjic.
Bouffier is a very important figure in the political life of Germany, as he is not just chairman of Hesse’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but also deputy to its leader Angela Merkel.
Four companies from Hesse invested in Serbia – STADA in Hemofarm, Fresenius, NORMA Group and IGB Bauering.
Serbia’s exports to Hesse reached EUR 164 million last year, and imports from this German federal state EUR 125 million.
The GDP of Hesse, which has a population of 6.1 million, stands at EUR 225 billion, which is seven times higher than Serbia’s GDP.
The Serbian prime minister will then go to Frankfurt to talk with Minister of Economics of the federal state of Hesse Tarek Al-Wazir, tour the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Frankfurt.
In the afternoon hours, Prime Minister Vucic will attend the opening of a Serbian-German business forum in Frankfurt, take part in a plenary session and panel discussion titled “Framework conditions and financial possibilities”.
After the forum, the Serbian prime minister will have several bilateral meetings with managers of the German companies Rhenus Port Logistics GmbH & Co. KG, Messer Industriegase GmbH, Fresenius and Reverse Logistic Group.
Vucic, Bouffier discuss cooperation, support, friendship
WIESBADEN – Serbia is a loyal partner to Germany, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said Wednesday after a meeting with the Minister-President of the German state of Hesse, Volker Bouffier.
The fact that Bouffier has family ties with Serbia is a good foundation for even better relations between Serbia and Hesse and Serbia and Germany, Vucic told reporters.
Vucic said that he discussed many topics with Bouffier and expressed satisfaction with the fact that Hesse and Germany have backed Serbia on its EU path.
There are 370 German companies operating in Serbia, and trade with Hesse alone totalled over EUR 300 million last year, Vucic said.
That is significant for us, I hope to see an improvement in economic cooperation and we will do everything to get even more investors from Hesse to come to Serbia, he announced.
He invited Bouffier, who is also the vice president of Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union, to visit Serbia.
We will always be loyal friends to you, the Chancellor (Angela Merkel) and Germany, Vucic said, adding that Serbia will work on preserving regional peace and stability.
Bouffier said that he had an open and friendly conversation with Vucic and that he is satisfied with their discussion on all current topics, in particular on Tuesday’s terror attack in Brussels.
Source: Tanjug
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