UAE's Etihad interested in Jat?

Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic said that the Etihad company from the United Arab Emirates was negotiating the takeover of Jat Airways.

Dinkic also said that a solution for the Serbian flag carrier would be definitely found in 2013.

Dinkic noted that a contact had been made the day before between the directors of Jat and Etihad, one of the few airlines in the world that had turned profit in 2012, adding that a joint venture of Jat and Etihad would provide a new energy, given that the Serbian airline had good pilots and an excellent geographic position, whereas Etihad had airplanes and a good access to some other markets.

- One of the most famous global air traffic companies, Etihad, which is essentially the property of Sheikh Mohammed, made a contact with Jat yesterday and now negotiates its acquisition or a joint investment - Dinkic said on the TV Pink News program.

When asked whether that meant that Jat would soon get a strategic partner, Dinkic replied that the talks had just started and that it was still too early to speak about strategic partnership, but that it was important that the first contacts had been made.

- It is for sure that the problem with Jat will be solved this year in a solid way. Our strategy was to buy new airplanes if we were going to resolve that issue by ourselves. Jat definitely gets new airplanes, but it would also be good that it gets a partner as well - a large global company like Etihad - Dinkic explained.

He stressed that the path to the final agreement was long, but he also said that he believed "we will do everything to make it happen in the following period."

Dinkic also noted that one of the largest investment funds in the Persian Gulf was interested in Jat Tehnika.