COMMENT
What The Pandemic Has Taught Us If the new reality that we've entered had to be summarised in a telegraph, its key words would be solidarity, putting people first, commitment to reform, dialogue and digital transformation. In the future, the bar that's been set during the pandemic should be raised constantly
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omewhat surprising data for June and July arrived equal conditions of doing business for all and transparency. recently, showing that the recovery of the Serbian Every crisis, and particularly such a strong one as this, economy is happening much faster than we'd leads to the loss of a large number of jobs, and, according expected, and that's happening primarily in the to IMF forecasts, between 140,000 and 160,000 will be lost fields of industrial production and foreign trade. However, in Serbia. Of course, this also means that a large number to a great extent, how long such trends will last depends of companies, primarily small ones, will collapse. At the primarily on world trends, where the biggest contraction same time, such conditions also lead to the birth of some in trade since World War II is expected, as well as a drop new business initiatives and new ways of working within in the level of foreign investment by a minimum of 30 to existing business structures, or completely new ones. 40 per cent. If we had to draw several conclusions from the course Experts believe that, under such of the crisis to date that would be relecircumstances, Serbia must work on vant for the period ahead, they could In the time that follows, both the the diversification of production and be these: investing in reforms pays new government of Serbia and the supply, which could also be an incentioff, because if that weren't the case ve for attracting new forms of foreign then Serbia would not have met such economy face a period in which direct investment. a crisis with a far better fiscal position little can be predicted. According The need for a new growth model than the one it had earlier; an honest, to IMF forecasts, we will probably isn't a new topic. It has been discussed thorough and timely dialogue with all in Serbia for several years by both experience an even deeper economic stakeholders in the economy is key to international financial institutions success, both in crisis situations like a downturn, with unknowns regarding and local experts. This new model pandemic and in “peacetime” periods; the scale of the pandemic and envisages the shifting of the backbone anyone who entered into the process of growth to the newly formed struof digital transformation, either prior the promise of a vaccine that will cture of larger and smaller Serbian to the crisis or under the forced cirmake life easier, but in some new enterprises, primarily exporters, whicumstances of the crisis, increased reality. That reality now needs to be ch emerged in the company of large their chances of overcoming existing foreign investments that contributed market challenges and preparing for embraced creatively to building a modern economic struthe new period of pronounced digital cture on the ruins of the old system communication; Last but certainly not after the 2000s. least, the crisis has shown us that people – their health and Such a model does not renounce foreign investments, safety, solidarity, responsibility towards others, colleagues, of course, but does imply a different approach in attracting companies and society – form the basis for building comsuch investments, based primarily on the creation of a munities that will be able to respond to existing challenges business environment that will be based on the rule of law, and new ones that emerge. ■ 6
FOREIGN INVESTORS COUNCIL 2020
