Business climate in Serbia more and more attractive to Italian businessmen – economic potentials of Toscana represented in Belgrade's "Hyatt"

- Serbia is the partner that Italy needs for numerous reasons, such as size of the market, vicinity and complementarity of the economy, as well as agreement on free trade that your country signed with Russia. Besides, about 75 Italian companies have already settled in Serbia - said the ambassador of Italy to Serbia Alessandro Merola at the opening of the conference dedicated to economic potentials of the Toscana region in hotel "Hyatt" on June 19, 2006.

According to his words, the cheap manpower is not the most important thing for the investments, but also low infrastructural and hidden costs. Merola estimated that the Serbia market was very suitable for many Italian companies, especially for those which operate in the field of production of textile, footwear, clothing and furniture. He announced that, by the end of the year 2006, the delegations of regions of Friuli Venice Julia and Emilia Romagna would arrive in Belgrade, as well as that the presentation of Serbian economy would be organized in Puglia.

The State Secretary for International Economic Relations, Vlatko Sekulović, reminded that, thanks to the projects for promotion of economy of the two countries and Italian investments, the export from Serbia to Italy had increased by nearly 80% in 2005 in comparison with the year 2004.

Sekulović pointed out that, as far as the companies from Toscana were concerned, company "Pompea" had opened two up-to-date textile factory in Zrenjanin and Valjevo and bought one bankrupted company, whereas company "Lorenceti" had bought one company in Kula and moved there part of production from Florence.

The Manager of Italian Foreign Trade Institute in Belgrade, Enriko Barbieri, reminded that 30 representatives of companies from Toscana had arrived in Serbia. During three-day visit, they will have bilateral meetings with Serbian businessmen. They will also be represented the new tendencies in fashion and design and the workshop will be organized, the purpose of which is founding of a service center for companies that want to establish cooperation with the companies according to the model that exists in Toscana.