Office for European Affairs and the city of Novi Sad establish European partnership

The Office for European Affairs is participating in the General Assembly of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE) in Salzburg, as its full member and as a representative of Vojvodina. “We have been a member of this significant institution that gathers regions and cities all over European since 2006. In the course of these two years we have presented Vojvodina as a stable, reliable and predictable partner. Moreover, the members of this institution are also a large number of major companies from the field of industry, energy sector, banking, insurance, which investigate new investment opportunities through regional cooperation. This year we have sent, via our partners from the Institute, an invitation to other institutions of the Province and to towns around the country. It is of special importance that some towns, such as Novi Sad and Niš, will be for the first time within this European partnership, thus proving once again that Vojvodina opens European doors to the whole country.

During the Conference and upon the proposal of the Office for European Affairs, Novi Sad has been accredited the organization of the Economy Conference, which is to be held next year in the capital of the Province. This event will be an excellent opportunity to present our city’s potentials to European partners. As per the agreements I had with the mayors, the Office for European Affairs is also initiating strategic partnerships with Novi Sad, Niš, Dimitrovgrad, Užice, etc. The towns in the country wish to take the opportunities that regional cooperation and pre-accession funds offer, and they do not want to wait. We are beginning with the formation of teams, which will be engaged in projects and in that way, will directly support the economic development of their environment” said Predrag Novikov. In the Working Group for Financing of Regional and Local Infrastructure Projects, Novikov is going to present the investment potentials of the Province, such as infrastructure, traffic and waterway network, whereas, the Secretariat of Science and Technology is going to present Vojvodina’s initiatives and achievements in technological development. Mihailo Brkić, Director of the Development Fund of Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is also participating in the Conference, where in separate meetings with the colleagues from the EU, he is going to discuss opportunities for establishing cooperation in development programs and preferential credit financing for small and medium enterprises in the Province.