Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said today that Serbia will use its presidency of the Central European Initiative (CEI) in 2011 to strengthen cooperation with countries in the region and promote cooperation with member states of this initiative.

Opening the ministerial conference held on the occasion of Serbia’s CEI presidency, Cvetkovic pointed out that the priority areas of cooperation in 2011 will be agriculture, economy, energy, culture, minority rights and cooperation with civil society.

These issues are important for maintaining stability in the region, but also for economic development and improving economic prospects for the region as a whole, and especially for the EU candidate countries, the Prime Minister underlined.

He announced that in the days to come the Serbian government will pass measures for strong support to livestock farming through subsidised loans.

The Serbian government policy is aimed at improving the situation of small farms, especially those that raise cattle, Cvetkovic said and recalled that agriculture, as one of the most important economic sectors, has a share of more than 10% of GDP in Serbia’s budget.

Noting that the theme of this year's conference is “Small farms in the time of globalisation”, the Prime Minister expressed the hope that the conclusions of the conference will help to find a way to improve the position of small farmers in the time of globalisation.

We must not forget that besides large structural economic and political reforms, globalisation also brings changes to which all market participants have to adjust in order to survive, Cvetkovic observed.

During its CEI presidency in 2011, Serbia will strive to point out the importance of agriculture and in cooperation with other states to try and improve the conditions for the production and sale of agricultural food products in the market, he explained.

Minister of Agriculture, Trade, Forestry and Water Management Dusan Petrovic stated that at today’s gathering, ministers will be able to discuss the direction of their agrarian policies, which are very alike.

He announced that the government will today adopt a Decree on subsidised loans for agricultural producers.

The Decree will be presented tomorrow at the International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad and we will be able to see this document in its final form, the Minister announced.

Petrovic said that agricultural producers will be approved subsidised loans for various purposes – cattle breeding, machinery and equipment and other – adding that a significant portion will be set aside to refinance last year’s short-term loans.