Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BELGRADE1615
2007-12-04 08:53:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Belgrade
Cable title:  

SERBIA: DYNAMIC MAYOR OUTLINES A VISION FOR A BETTER

Tags:  ECON EINV SR 
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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #1615/01 3380853
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040853Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1835
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 0029
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
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
-------
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