Serbia should create a stable business environment and stable investment climate in order to be seen as a reliable partner in the region and in the European Union (EU), participants of the 11th Economic Summit of Serbia said Monday.

To achieve the goal, the political, business and social elites in Serbia should reach a consensus, said the President of the Serbian Business Club Privrednik, Branislav Grujic.

He noted that in two year's time, when Croatia should enter the EU, Serbia would border with the EU and should therefore create an environment that would make the country a center of free market.

Grujic said that Serbia would be facing a number of challenges on the way, pointing to the improvement of infrastructure, entrepreneurship, educational structure, reducing bureaucracy and fighting corruption as key priorities.

Foreign Investor Services Chairman Milan Parivodic said that Serbia should remain firmly on the path to the EU, since that was the only efficient way to modernize the country.

He stressed that the process called for major economic and political reforms.

Eurobank EFG Group General Manager Giorgio Pradelli said that Serbia had three advantages over other countries in the region, namely, the current fiscal situation, the stability of the banking system and the fact that it was dealing with the crisis better than other countries.

He pointed out that GDP in Serbia was growing while the inflation rate was dropping.