4th Regional business forum

The Fourth Regional Business Forum was held in the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina on November 25. At the initiative of the Assembly of European Regions, the forum was launched four years ago and this year it was organized together with the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, the Provincial Government, the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina, the Development Agency of Vojvodina, the European Entrepreneurship Network and the European Affairs Fund.

The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina, Boško Vučurević, pointed out that among almost 250 applicants, in addition to companies and the Development Agency, the Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy, there are clusters, which can multiply the number of participants to more than 1000.

The goal of the Forum is certainly to connect our businessmen, to include our companies in the international division of labor. We try to enable businessmen to connect and achieve results in this way as well. These results show that in the first nine months, the foreign trade of AP Vojvodina was realized in the value of 11.6 billion euros, which is 30% more compared to the previous year, and 23% more compared to the pre-crisis 2019. With this synergy of institutions, we can only achieve even better results, Vučurević pointed out.

On behalf of the European Affairs Fund, Director Aleksandar Simurdić addressed the audience:
“We are very pleased that the Fund is again a partner of the largest event of this profile in the country, which aims to strengthen regional economic cooperation. Regional economic integration and the common market is the way which should be followed .”

The President of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, Istvan Pastor, pointed out that this day is very important because it is a confirmation of the correctness of the policy of cooperation, seeking partnership, solutions and everything that makes us better and stronger. This brings us to our Fourth Regional Business Forum, which was entrusted to us by AER. AER entrusted us with the organization of the Forum for three years, and now we have agreed to organize it for the next three years as well, because they recognized a loyal partner in us, Pastor pointed out. How successful we have been in our intentions is shown by the fact that this Forum is the largest so far, which makes it the most prestigious event organized by the provincial institutions this year. This is confirmed by the figures – participants from 35 countries from 4 continents, 69 regions and 230 participants have registered at the Forum.

The Provincial Secretary for Regional Development, Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government, Aleksandar Sofić, pointed out that the goal of today’s Forum is to connect economic entities from the territory of AP Vojvodina with economic entities from the region and the world. This year, the Provincial Secretariat for Regional Development has provided funds and invested 300 million dinars in measures to support economic development, and the fact that one of the priorities of the Provincial Government is economic development is shown by the fact that next year only through our Provincial Secretariat 660 million dinars will be invested in economic development measures. development.

In his address via video link, Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, pointed out that he welcomed the holding of the Fourth Regional Business Forum in Novi Sad, as well as the strong support from the EU for the countries of the Western Balkans. Varhelji emphasized the importance of the plan for the recovery of the Western Balkans, which will bring almost 30 billion euros of investments for the region. He emphasized that the economic prosperity of the Western Balkans requires a strong commitment to regional cooperation and good neighborly relations, and that the countries of this region have a better chance if they act together towards the European market. The European Commissioner also pointed out that the EC gives support in opening new chapters to the countries of the Western Balkans that are in the process of joining the EU.
The director of the Development Agency of Vojvodina, Nikola Žeželj, pointed out that the state of Serbia will significantly influence the growth of GDP with its infrastructure projects. There is still room for growth in the investments of domestic companies, and it is up to us to enable them to reach development, by finding new markets, finding partners and promoting their companies. This Forum is one of the right ways to make that happen.