Serbia Hopes to Tap Into Diaspora's Riches
Serbia is strengthening ties with its diaspora in a bid to get them to invest in the country's sickly economy.
Belgrade Serbia's Ministry for Diaspora and Religion has unveiled a catalogue with 193 investment projects in 68 municipalities and towns in Serbia to delegates of the Serbian diaspora.
"Investors from abroad are not being asked to help the country, we are offering them the chance to do business in Serbia and make money and employ people," Srdjan Sreckovic, the Minister for Religion and the Diaspora, said.
The bid for diaspora money forms part of a wider plan to attract investments worth 4-5 billion dollars in 2012 as the country's economy struggles to exit recession.
According to Sreckovic, the diaspora has invested some 550 million dollars in Serbia since 2000.
"These remittances are the reason why people in Serbia live better than the statistics show," Sreckovic said, adding that most remittances came from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the US, Croatia and France.
It is almost impossible to determine the exact number of Serbs abroad as they have different statuses, ranging from fully-fledged citizens of foreign countries to people in "temporary work". But it is estimated that some 4 million Serbs live out of Serbia.
For decades, they were only important when it came to voting in the Eurovision song contest.
Recently the government has shifted gear, adopting a new strategy and Law on Diaspora in 2010 that it hopes lays the foundation of a new relationship.
Diaspora representatives say a number of problems need to be resolved. Validation of foreign university degrees and long, complicated procedures for obtaining Serbian documents and citizenship are cited as some of the key problems.
"Our people should be allowed to vote by mail during elections in Serbia, but also should be given seats in parliament," Radivoje Petrikic, a lawyer from Austria, said.
He suggested that Serbia create a permanent body to deal only with practical economic projects intended for the diaspora.
"Investors from abroad are not being asked to help the country, we are offering them the chance to do business in Serbia and make money and employ people," Srdjan Sreckovic, the Minister for Religion and the Diaspora, said.
The bid for diaspora money forms part of a wider plan to attract investments worth 4-5 billion dollars in 2012 as the country's economy struggles to exit recession.
According to Sreckovic, the diaspora has invested some 550 million dollars in Serbia since 2000.
"These remittances are the reason why people in Serbia live better than the statistics show," Sreckovic said, adding that most remittances came from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the US, Croatia and France.
It is almost impossible to determine the exact number of Serbs abroad as they have different statuses, ranging from fully-fledged citizens of foreign countries to people in "temporary work". But it is estimated that some 4 million Serbs live out of Serbia.
For decades, they were only important when it came to voting in the Eurovision song contest.
Recently the government has shifted gear, adopting a new strategy and Law on Diaspora in 2010 that it hopes lays the foundation of a new relationship.
Diaspora representatives say a number of problems need to be resolved. Validation of foreign university degrees and long, complicated procedures for obtaining Serbian documents and citizenship are cited as some of the key problems.
"Our people should be allowed to vote by mail during elections in Serbia, but also should be given seats in parliament," Radivoje Petrikic, a lawyer from Austria, said.
He suggested that Serbia create a permanent body to deal only with practical economic projects intended for the diaspora.
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