We have to leave a better regulated and more developed society to the future generations.
In her welcome speech at the conference, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, Zorana Mihajlović said that she believed that everyone wanted to leave behind the best possible heritage to the future generations, which includes a legitimate and legal political society, an institutionalized economic society, and a developed civil sector.
We need to transform our visions into reality and only by doing so are we going to be able to make big steps forward. We are all bound by this faith in a modern and developed Serbia. The only way to honour our predecessors, whom we often mentioned and think about, as well as the future generations is to continue progressing towards the better future which, for me personally, include the years prior to 2018, the year 2018 and all the years after 2018. We need to ask ourselves what are we doing for the future generations who should inherit a society that is better regulated, more modern and more developed.
In 2018, I expect a continuation of the current internal and foreign policy which was defined three years ago by Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian government. This policy restored Serbia’s reputation, secured political and economic stability, and created a realistic future for everybody in Serbia.
Life is Serbia is now easier, compared to the last and the previous five years. Becoming an EU member remains our policy, and the Ministry for European Integrations is an example of how committed is our government to accomplishing this goal. The world has finally accepted Serbia as it is, with all its flaws and virtues.
Serbia’s strategic relations with China, Turkey, the UAE, and Turkey are often misunderstood, but these relations are not only the result of the economic development but also of the long-standing, decade-long friendship and cooperation. Nobody wants to lose friends today. We want to have them in every part of the world, and as long as we can adapt this policy, I think Serbia will be fine.
In regard to the Corridor 10 and 11, we have built a total of 200km of motorways with 17 million more cars using these motorways today compared to 2014. The value of investments in infrastructure is close to 16 billion EUR, with each invested euro generating three euros in return through new jobs and companies. There are 23,000 active construction sites in Serbia, we are buying new trains and we are connecting to regional countries. When I think of Serbia in 2018, I have no qualms.