Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić told RTS that the technical phase of negotiations with the Eurasian Union will include the contingent of “Fiat” vehicles that could be exported to the market of that Union.
Visiting the “Journal” (Dnevnik) at RTS, Rasim Ljajić said that an important obstacle was removed by the decision of Kazakhstan to accept customs-free export of “Fiat” vehicles from Serbia to countries of the Eurasian Union.
“There is a formal legal process of conclusion of procedures, i.e. the conclusion of the Agreement between Serbia and the countries of the Eurasian Union. We expect agreements, the formation of the negotiating team and the text of the agreement“, says Ljajić.
The Minister states that Serbia asked that the unified agreement includes the export of sugar, wine, and poultry meat.
“The announcement of ‘Fiat’ is important for our economy in general,” said Ljajić, adding that the agreement was a major factor in attracting foreign investments.
Answering the question if Serbian vehicles could be exported, the Minister said that “the ball is not in our backyard.”
“We hope to get the text of the agreement until October or November, it depends on the countries of the Eurasian Union. Immediately after that, we are ready to harmonize the text, and the other side will certainly have requirements in the agreement, ” says Ljajić.
Regarding the issue of “Fiat’s” vehicles that could be exported, the Minister pointed out that the contingent of vehicles will be discussed in the technical phase of negotiations.
“The importance of such an agreement is twofold – we are one of the countries that has such an agreement with both the EU and the Eurasian Union. Secondly, it is a huge market, “says Minister of Trade.
Speaking of tourism, Ljajić indicates that there has been an increase in the number of tourists by 13 percent and the growth of foreign exchange earnings amounts to 14 percent.
“We should not forget that these numbers refer to the period before events such as Beerfest, Guča. Serbia has potential when we talk about tourism,” Ljajić says, adding that 44,000 vouchers for holidays in Serbia have been issued so far.
