Subotica and Vranje to cooperate in drawing investments

Subotica and Vranje will share experience in drawing investments and developing tourism in the future, it was agreed at the meeting of the mayors of the northernmost and southernmost cities in Serbia, Bogdan Laban and Slobodan Milenkovic in Subotica on August 22.

The mayor of Vranje and his associates took a tour of Mali Bajmok Industrial Zone, where the Free Zone is located, in which over 5,000 people are currently employed in multinational companies. As he emphasized, they are especially interested in experiences regarding relations with investors – from promoting potential, drawing interest, through building, to starting the production, in order to try to “copy” the process in Vranje.

– It's apparent that Subotica is very advanced in this field and I hope that we will be able to come close to them in the period ahead in terms of development and the ability to draw in investors – Milenkovic said.

According to him, there are around 9,500 unemployed people in Vranje officially, which is why drawing investors is the priority of the new local self-government.

The mayor of Subotica, Bogdan Laban, said that Subotica could learn from Vranje about the development of tourism from the example of Vranjska Banja.

– We expect investments in tourism, where they're ahead of us thanks to Vranjska Banja, whereas we're trying to bring Palic back to its old glory – Laban said.

The cooperation initiative originated with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic himself, whose adviser for drawing investments, German expert Joerg Heeskens, had estimated that the two cities could learn a lot from each other.

– Vranje can learn a lot from Subotica about drawing foreign investments. The problems that Subotica had until six or seven years ago Vranje has now and it can learn from Subotica's example how to find a long-term solution to the problem of unemployment – Heeskens said.

Grad Subotica

Grad Vranje

Vlada Republike Srbije

City of Subotica

City of Vranje

Bogdan Laban

Slobodan Milenkovic

Mali Bajmok Industrial Zone

Vranjska Banja

Palic

Government of Serbia

Aleksandar Vucic

Joerg Heeskens