Agreement on development cooperation signed between government of Serbia and Austria

The Minister of Finance of Serbia, Diana Dragutinović, and the Development Cooperation Manager in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Irene Frojdenšus-Reihl, signed the Agreement on development cooperation between the governments of the two countries on February 6th in Belgrade.

Serbian Minister of Finance said at the press conference that that agreement was very significant because it revoked certain duties and taxes and provided legal framework for further cooperation between Serbia and Austria.

- The signing of this agreement represents the beginning of the new era in the relations between Serbia and Austria, which can also be the signal for other countries to start similar cooperation with Serbia – said Dragutinović.

She added that previous cooperation between Austria and Serbia had been based on bilateral agreements and contracts, and she pointed out that Austria’s aid to Serbia, since year 2000, amounted to nearly 40m EUR.

Dragutinović reminded that Austria had backed the programme for promotion and revival of municipalities in Serbia, the programme for integrated regional development of Vojvodina and South Serbia, and "Experience Europe" project, and that it had provided support for the National Employment Agency.

Irene Frojdenšus-Reihl said that the relations between Serbia and Austria had been successful so far, and she pointed out that the Agreement would make the work in the domain of development cooperation easier because it revoked certain duties and taxes.

- The Agreement provides a general legal framework and it does not define the contents of the future cooperation, but only determines the legal models of cooperation – she said.

She pointed out that Austria would keep supporting Serbia on its way to Europe "because it is the only right direction that Serbia should take".