SERBIA: DYNAMIC MAYOR OUTLINES A VISION FOR A BETTER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001615 SIPDIS SIPDIS USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/EUR/OEERIS/SSAVICH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV SR SUBJECT: SERBIA: DYNAMIC MAYOR OUTLINES A VISION FOR A BETTER SERBIA Summary -------------- ¶1. During a visit to Indjija, a small city located 45 minutes from Belgrade the Ambassador had an opportunity to see first hand a dynamic local Mayor's success in attracting investment and building a foundation for economic prosperity. Mayor Jesic is a young, energetic leader who is working to build a successful future for Serbia. U.S. assistance programs have played an important role in supporting Indjija and the Mayor's efforts. End Summary. Indjija - Small City Thinks Big -------------- ¶2. During a November 8 visit to Indjija, a city of approximately 50,000 halfway between Serbia's two largest cities of Belgrade and Novi Sad, the Ambassador saw first hand a city that leads the way in attracting investment and building economic opportunity. Indjija is led by a dynamic 33 year-old mayor, Goran Jesic, now serving his second term who sets the tone and the pace for Indjija. Jesic's "rock star" qualifications are well earned when looking at the success of Indjija. Since Jesic was elected, there has been $440 million in foreign investment in Indjija, 35 international firms operate in the municipality and ten new factories are under construction. ¶3. Jesic thinks big. During the summer of 2007 Indjija organized a concert featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers that attracted nearly 100,000 from all over Serbia and neighboring countries. The concert was held in one of the city's two industrial zones to take maximum advantage, according to the Mayor, of "an unbeatable advertising opportunity" to promote Indjija and the economic opportunities and infrastructure available. Indjija: A Model of US Assistance -------------- ¶4. Mayor Jesic and Indjija have been strong partners with U.S. assistance programs. The Mayor was an international visitor program participant in 2002. During that visit and subsequent trips he was exposed to a number of municipal governance initiatives that he has brought to Serbia. Indjija is an active partner in USAID municipal development programs, including the Municipal Economic Growth Initiative. Indjija has become such a successful model for municipal good governance initiatives that cities around Serbia now come to Indjija for training. Young Leader an Example for Others -------------- ¶5. Mayor Jesic is a rising star in the Democratic Party (DS) and in Serbian politics. He recently made a short-lived jump to the national level when he was appointed by Deputy Prime Minister Djelic to be an advisor for foreign direct investment. Following a ruling by the state ethics board that Jesic could not hold a central government position while still Mayor, Jesic resigned as an advisor yet he remains a model for other leaders in Serbia. The head of ESCA, a firm that makes all the hamburgers sold by McDonald's in Serbia, spoke highly of the Mayor's willingness to get personally involved to support businesses. Jesic went to Belgrade and spent a day at the Ministry of Ecology resolving a permit problem that ESCA had faced during the firm's start up. Technology Park an Example of Jesic's Investment Push -------------- -------------- ¶6. This fall Indjija made headlines with the announcement of an agreement with the Indian firm business park developer Embassy Group to construct a technology park. This project was Jesic's brainchild, and could involve an investment of more than $600 million. In the first two years, the project envisages development of 25,000 square meters of business space and the creation of 2,000 jobs. Later, the business space could be expanded to employ as many as 25,000 workers. This will be Embassy Group's first park in Europe. The firm's clients in Asia include IBM, Microsoft, HP, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Yahoo, Google, Daimler, Lenovo, NVIDIA, etc. Comment -------------- ¶7. Mayor Jesic has a bright political future and is an example of the future-oriented thinking that our policies and assistance are promoting. Jesic is articulate in outlining his concerns, such as moves to return to indirect election of mayors, and slow progress on devolving property and authority to local governments. At the same time he is focused on building a climate for investment in Serbia, not just in Indjija, with talk of building capacity in the education and training system and reaching out to Western investors to encourage participation in the privatization of large state-owned BELGRADE 00001615 002 OF 002 Serbian firms. Indjija's success shows what can be done in Serbia with long-term vision and leadership. End Comment. MUNTER