Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Minister of Science and Technological Development Bozidar Djelic stated today that countries in the southeast European region should endorse the setting up of joint companies and invest more in scientific and technological research.

Speaking at the SEE Management Forum Bled-Kopaonik, Djelic said that investment in scientific innovation, research work and prevention of the brain drain should be a priority of all governments in the region if they are to facilitate the growth of national companies.

He recalled that in the period 2000–2007, Serbia lost 67% of GDP and that it will need almost 30 years to reach the current EU level of development.

Through loans, Serbia has secured around €400 million from non-budget funds for investing in science over the next four year, he announced.

However, it is already becoming evident that we have 50% more submitted projects than projected, which means that the Serbian government will have to set aside another €50 million for 2011, he added.

Djelic announced that the Danube Initiative will be presented around the end of 2010 and adopted early in 2011, during Hungary’s EU presidency.

The Initiative comprises 14 member countries, although the Danube does not actually traverse some of them, including Slovenia.

The goal of the Danube Initiative is to endorse the development of countries around this European river, he explained, adding that Serbia has been tasked with coordinating infrastructure issues, since the 588 kilometres of the Danube’s flow through Serbia are one quarter of the river’s entire navigable flow, Djelic explained.

Serbia plans to locate an intermodal checkpoint for river, rail, air and road traffic on the Danube, between Novi Sad and Belgrade, which should become a strong logistics centre for south-eastern Europe.

Djelic also recalled that Serbia has an aging population, just as a number of other countries in the region, which is why the drain of young and educated people must be stopped.

He gave an example of Miodrag Stojkovic, a renowned Serbian scientist and expert in stem cell research, who returned to Serbia and urged for the opening of the Molecular Biology Department at the Kragujevac University.

The state must provide good conditions for scientists and innovators, and if they are employed in a successful foreign company, than the company should be offered to open a branch in Serbia, he underlined.

This was done with Microsoft, and we now have its development centre in Belgrade, one of five such centres in the world, which hires Serbian experts.