Serbian President Boris Tadic said Wednesday that foreign investors, Fiat included, ask that their contracts be kept secret in order to protect their investments, but that regulatory bodies in Serbia have the right to get insight into what the state has signed with the company.

"Investors have a business interest to protect their investments and to use the element of surprise in the first few years to make a profit. This is why Fiat's management asked for certain privacy of the business contract and I ask people to have understanding for this fact," Tadic said, commenting on what he called a complex debate surrounding the contract with the Italian company.

He added that regulatory bodies, in agreement with the investor, should get insight into what the state has signed, in this case with Fiat. The Serbian president stressed that all investors the government is in talks with ask that the negotiations be kept secrete and want to make a positive impact when they first hit the Serbian market.

Asked to name some of the investors he will bring to Serbia, Tadic said he cannot answer such questions because he must respect the conditions set by the investors.
"In the last few days I have had serious and concrete talks with some investors and I hope they will result in new jobs," Tadic said, adding that the attention is focused on those investors who can contribute to Serbia's technological development.

Appealing for patience, the president said "it is not time to hold elections but to wrap up the jobs planned over the last three and a half years." He also reminded that after the last election, with the outbreak of the global economic crisis, Serbia "woke up" in a different world one day.

"The last election took place in different economic circumstances, when we had EUR 1,000 billion more investments at our disposal, and then we were left without them after the events on Wall Street. I cannot change the world, I can only improve our reaction to the changes in the world and I believe people understand this. We share the fate of the entire world," Tadic concluded.