LJAJIC: Crisis in Turkey will affect Serbia as well

Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia Rasim Ljajic has stated that the drop in the value of the Turkish lira by 40% must affect Serbia and that it will also reflect on potential investors.

He stated for Kurir that Serbia had made considerable progress in attracting Turkish investments and that this was a whole new circumstance that each investor would take into account when making the final decision, Tanjug reports.

– This worries us, as the crisis in Turkey must have repercussions on us. We have Turkish textile factories which have arrived here due to lower costs, and the drop of the lira means that costs for these Turkish employers in Turkey drop automatically, while increasing in Serbia – Ljajic says.

He adds that the salary of 1.6 million liras, before the drop, was worth EUR 450, and that it is now worth EUR 250.

– If this state of things remains, it will certainly reflect on potential investors. None of them come to Serbia out of love, but for their economic interests – Ljajic says.

The construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway is an interstate project of a regional importance, financed from national, but also international sources, and the crisis of the Turkish lira can hardly be the reason for postponing the realization of this project, Politika writes in today’s issue.

This is how Aleksandar Medjedovic, a member of the Turkish-Serbian Business Council, comments on whether the economic instability in Turkey could slow down this infrastructural project in today’s Politika.

Those in charge say that everything is going according to plan for now and that the technical documentation and the funding model will be prepared by the next year. The construction of this route is expected to start next year, the daily writes.

– In addition to the state of the Turkish economy, we should also be worried about whether the economies of Serbia and B&H are ready for this project, as it is realized outside of Turkey and its construction is not directly tied to the lira – Medjedovic said.

He adds that what brought Turkish investors to Serbia were long-term prospects. This means, according to him, that temporary setbacks will not make them change their minds.

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

Rasim Ljajic

Turkish lira drop

Turkish investments in Serbia

Belgrade Sarajevo highway

Aleksandar Medjedovic

Turkish Serbian Business Council