Diplomacy &Commerce 19

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September 2017 | ISSUE No. 19 | Price 350 RSD

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AMBITIOUS PLANS AND OPEN POLICY

H.E. MUBARAK BIN FAHAD AL THANI Ambassador of Qatar to Serbia

PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ENHANCED COOPERATION

15 INDIA @70

AUG

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MINIMIZING BUREAUCRATIC OBSTACLES BRANKO RUŽIĆ

Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government in the Government of the Republic of Serbia

PREDRAG TOMIĆ

Ph.D., Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia to Serbia

ALWAYS CROSSING THE LINE

SERBIA SEEMS TO BE BROADLY ON THE RIGHT TRACK DANIEL BERG

EBRD Director for Serbia

INVEST IN

VOJVODINA

IVAN MEDENICA Art Director of BITEF

IGOR MIROVIĆ

The President of the Government of Vojvodina

UNICEF

MICHEL SAINT-LOT

UNICEF Representative in Serbia

ED ITO RI AL

If You Think Peace is a Common Goal...

CO N T E N T S

Dear readers, After the riots in the Southern U.S. recently, an old topic was revived as the subject of hot debate – the debate of the American Civil War, slavery, and the old divisions have been revived: The North was either progressive or greedy, The South was either racist or noble etc. And it is all filled with symbolism, monuments, flags and skin colours, of course.

But there is just one truth behind all of this bitter violence: every war for independence or revolution has usually been fuelled by the massive redistribution of wealth. The common people will talk about “freedom” and “pride”, while those behind the scenes will take the money and not even bother running.

Behind wars of independence there are usually attempts to create new, local elites, to replace the old ones, and to carry out massive wealth redistribution. Even in the Serbia of the 1990s, the nationalist rhetoric of “liberating” was in fact for the Serbian masses, while the elites silently redistributed huge amounts of money. In Russia, Yeltsin's “democracy” was a screen for massive plunder and the enrichment of elites.

Not to mention “wars for democracy”, which are usually waged where there's oil in the vicinity. You, common folk, can take your flags and your pride, and we will silently take all the money. If the elites don't create an external threat, their plunder will be far too obvious, so they always make sure to distract the impoverished masses.

In America they are leaving Trump to tweet and threaten other “nuclear” powers, while they are doing... guess what? Massively redistributing wealth again. Stop paying attention to your flags and skin colours, and take a look in your pockets… you will be surprised. And, to quote Morrissey once again, “If you think peace is a common goal, that goes to show how little you know.” ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor-in-Chief

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IN IRELAND’S JERUSALEM, CALLS TO FORGIVE ARE MORE THAN A PLATITUDE The cost of forgiveness in an Irish city

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MINIMIZING BUREAUCRATIC OBSTACLES BRANKO RUŽIĆ

Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government in the Government of the Republic of Serbia

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SERBIA AS A NEW SINGAPORE

The Island of its own

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ALWAYS CROSSING THE LINE IVAN MEDENICA Art Director of BITEF

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ART NEEDS COMPANY

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SERBIA SEEMS TO BE BROADLY ON THE RIGHT TRACK

JOVANKA VIŠEKRUNA JANKOVIĆ ArtLink

DANIEL BERG

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The first festival of young talent in classical music

EBRD Director for Serbia

PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ENHANCED COOPERATION PREDRAG TOMIĆ

Ph.D., Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia to Serbia

THE FRANZ LISZT FESTIVAL

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GEORGIA AND ARMENIA The Top of the Old World

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Editor in Chief

zikica.milosevic@color.rs

TANJA BANKOVIĆ

Editorial manager

tanja.bankovic@color.rs

VANJA KOVAČEV

PR&Event support Nord Communications vanja.communications @gmail.com

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ILIJA PETROVIĆ INDIGOCHILD

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GORAN ZLATKOVIĆ GETTY IMAGES Translation and lecturer

MRP EDITORIAL Translation

SNEŽANA RAKIĆ

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DE RRY A N D F O RG IV E N E S S

In Ireland’s Jerusalem, Calls to Forgive Are More Than a Platitude The cost of forgiveness in an Irish city

However improbably, Northern Ireland’s second city has often been compared to Jerusalem. Styled officially as Derry-Londonderry because its rival communities cannot agree on what to call it, this is a place with multiple blessings and afflictions. It was a religious foundation but it is associated with spectacular battles, both in modern times and centuries ago.

As with the Middle Eastern city, the setting is beautiful, and the atmosphere combines spirituality, division and conflict. In both conurbations, the stone ramparts which encircle the historic, contested centre are a permanent reminder of a turbulent past which has never quite been laid to rest. The Irish city looms large in the sacred history of one community, British-minded Protestants, but is demographically dominated by another, the Catholic community which votes mainly for Irish-nationalist parties.

Depending on where you draw the boundary, the city is at least 75% Catholic, and the Protestant share is falling.

A famous Anglican hymn “There is a green hill far away, without (outside) a city wall…” was written in this locality by a Victorian bishop’s wife. It is ostensibly about the crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem, but the Irish city’s fortifications and their surroundings were clearly in her mind. And to this day, some people in Derry care a lot about Jerusalem. During the recent clashes around al-Aqsa mosque, there was an anti-Israel protest in Derry which was backed by two political parties (the Irish Republicans of Sinn Fein and the far-left People Before Profit); it was inspired by a locally based, Egyptian-born football coach, Mohamed Ali, who keeps a shop outside Derry’s Guildhall. The Middle Eastern conflict resonates in other parts of Northern Ireland, too.

In both cities, conflict can spur creativity as a response to pain. In recent years, Derry has hosted some spectacular cultural festivals; but it palpably bears the scars of Northern Ireland’s quarter-century of violence bloodshed as the Troubles, which began in the city in August 1969. Almost all its residents have family memories of loved ones who were killed, often in horrible circumstances. One black moment in the city’s recent history was the “Bloody Sunday” in January 1972 when British soldiers shot dead 14 civil-rights demonstrators. There were plenty of other dark moments, and the city abounds with bereaved victims who believe

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their own tragic stories have not been sufficiently investigated.

In the light of all that, there is something quite edgy about a joint campaign to promote the ideal of forgiveness by a pair of clergy, a Catholic and a Protestant, with deep roots in the city. Father Paul Farren is administrator of Saint Eugene’s Catholic cathedral, and his pastoral domain includes the Bogside area, long a heartland of armed Irish Republicanism. Archdeacon Robert Miller oversees

PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN BLIGHTED BY INJURY OR VIOLENCE SHOULD BE ALIVE TO THE GRAVITY OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED, BUT NONETHELESS FIND WAYS TO RISE ABOVE FEELINGS OF VINDICTIVENESS three Anglican parishes. On the west side of the city where he lives, the Protestant population has plummeted; thousands of people have moved away, complaining of intimidation.

The two clerics have become good personal friends. In a gesture that might shock some hard-line Protestants, they have made a pilgrimage to Rome together. To explore what forgiveness means, they organise lectures, discussions and cultural events, including showings of a drama which highlights the issue of Protestant flight. They urge their respective flocks to feel the other side’s pain, which around

here is a tallish order.

Backed by Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, and a couple of the top bishops of the British Isles (one from each church), they have just co-authored a short book, “Forgiveness Remembers”. It is a kind of how-to manual and its line of argument is controversial. They discourage people from saying trite things like “forgive and forget” or “let bygones be bygones”. On the contrary, people whose lives have been blighted by injury or violence (whether politically inspired or not) should be alive to the gravity of what has happened, but nonetheless find ways to rise above feelings of vindictiveness.

Sometimes, hatred needs to come to the surface before it can be overcome, they argue, drawing on the tools of psychotherapy. Once you acknowledge that you hate somebody, you might over time be able to move on to a feeling of pity for whatever prompted that person to behave in such a terrible way, and eventually to compassion. But the process should not be rushed; forgiveness can take a long time.

This approach might sound touchy-feely but it is also out of step with many other contemporary trends.

For better or worse, Northern Ireland’s settlement has hitherto been based on something close to an amnesty for acts of violence by both sides. But that may soon change. As one of its conditions for re-entering a power-sharing arrangement, Sinn Fein is demanding greater emphasis on “legacy” issues, which in its parlance generally means prosecuting soldiers and policemen for acts of violence during the Troubles. This provokes outrage among Protestants and Unionists, who say servants of the Crown now risk being punished for going about their duties while those who used bombs and bullets to oppose them will be exempt from all scrutiny. The net result could be a general reopening of old scores and wounds.

Of course, forgiveness in a spiritual sense and judicial proceedings are two different things. It is possible, just about, to say “I forgive you but I still think justice should take its course”. But in the present climate, launching a book on the subject is quite brave and counter-cultural.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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I NTERVIEW

Minimizing Bureaucratic Obstacles

Along with reforming public administration, we are also going to focus on prefecting the knowhow and skills of civil servants in order for them to provide high quality services to both citizens and business people BRANKO RUŽIĆ Minister of Public Administration and Local SelfGovernment in the Government of the Republic of Serbia

We are talking to the newly appointed Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Branko Ružić about further steps in reforming public administration, e- and m-government, the Law on Civil Servants, reforming inspection oversight, and digitalization.

You have succeeded the now Prime Minister, Ana Brnabic in this position. How much do hers

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and your priorities regarding the Ministry match, and in which segment of the ministerial work are you planning on doing something differently?

— I have been lucky in that respect that my two predecessors have

modernization of public administration, because we are convinced that the undertaken measures are leading towards reducing red tape and increasing efficiency of public institutions, as well as towards reducing the required time and

After becoming minister, you had talks with ambassadors from the US, Finland, Russia, Estonia and several other countries. What were the main topics at these meetings?

BY ADOPTING THE LAW ON CIVIL SERVANTS, WE WANT TO CREATE A SYSTEM THAT IS MANAGEABLE, TRANSPARENT AND FAIR, AND TO FINALLY HAVE MOTIVATED EMPLOYEES done a lot on reforming the public administration, and I am confident that the path that we are currently on is the best possible path for the Serbian citizens. I am not going to swerve from this path, that’s for sure.

It is important that we ensure continuity in optimization and

ing the skills and the know-how of our employees, to properly value good work and sanction subpar one. I would like to dedicate my work to civil servants because it is them, not buildings, that make public administration.

money that citizens spend on communicating to the administration which for us, in the state administration, is important because changes lead to better management of the system, both organizationally and financially. Apart from ensuring continuity, it is important for me to foucs on further advanc-

— I see that I talk to a lot of my peers in the region and from the countries that are far ahead of us because I want to learn from the best and apply best practices in our system too. I don’t think that we are the smartest and that we can do everything ourselves.

Serbia has gone through a lot of trouble and I am proud of what

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the government has done so far so that we can stand on our two feet and for other countries to be able to speak of Serbia in an affirmative tone. If we had closed the door behind us, we would have never got where we are today.

E-government is one of the government’s priorities, but there are speculations that the relevant Action Plan might include stipulations about m-government too. Is Serbia ready to embark on such move?

— You probably know that, when it comes to e-government parameters, the UN ranked Serbia 39th out of 193 countries, and 3rd out of the 6 observed countries in the region. I am very happy to hear that, and my impressions from the regional talks at the Bled Forum are very positive. We also praised our e-services for citizens like “Baby, Welcome to the World!” which ensures that parents can complete all the administrative procedures for the newborns while they are still in maternity hospital, and to be able to spend the precious first days of baby’s life at home rather than running around and trying to sort out documents. It is also interesting to note that we have networked all the registries in one place, and that civil servants will now have access to 14 different documents and can complete the relevant procedures by themselves electronically, rather than asking our citizens to submit copies of various documents, certificates etc. What we need to do is to continue developing m-government and make e-services available via mobile phones, which is our next phase.

How much is the establishment of electronic records of Serbian citizens an important step in that direction, and how will that specifically benefit the citizens of Serbia?

— The Ministry has started creating a Central Registry, which contains all electronic data from the registry books. Already, a number of local self-governments are using e-data stored in the Central Registry in their work. In order to consolidate the data, it is necessary to incorporate the Citizenship Registry too, which is under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry.

In this way, citizens will not have to go to their hometowns to get certain documents, as before, but will be able to get them anywhere in Serbia.

AT THE BLED STRATEGIC FORUM, ALL REGIONAL MINISTERS AGREED THAT DIGITALIZATION WAS ONE OF THE PRIORITIES. SERBIA HAS MADE GREAT PROGRESS IN THIS SEGMENT One of the key issues raised during the discussions with the IMF mission was sorting out local finances. What practical steps will be made to rectify this issue?

— This issue cannot be solved by one ministry alone, but we, as in government, must come up with several proposals for the solution.

There are available options, and we just have to properly examine all the circumstances. We cannot apply a rigid, one-off solution without taking into account the functioning of local self-governments. It is also important to establish a system that will prevent such things from happening in the future, and we are already working on it.

The IMF also requested that the Law on Civil Servants should be adopted by the end of the month.

Will you manage to do that?

— The draft law has gone through

a public debate, and we expect to forward it to the Government of the Republic of Serbia for adoption very soon. After that, the draft law should be sent to the National Assembly at the end of this month.

What kind of complaints did you hear during the public debate?

— During the debate, we heard praise for the way in which the current system is designed, as well as for the reform of inspection supervision and of administrative procedures. This is good, because, in the end, we all want to have a more efficient and professional administration.

Of course, we also heard different remarks and suggestions towards making certain laws clearer, and I can tell you that around 70% of these suggestions have been taken on board. Of course, a large part of the comments were about low salaries, and I would like to clarify

DIGITALIZATION IS PRIORITY You have participated recently at the Bled Strategic Forum.

What are your impressions of the Forum, and how big is the region’s need for further digitalization?

— All of the participating ministers pointed out that digitalization was priority, hence it is important for us to continue exchanging experiences and opinions about this topic in order for the entire region to progress together, both in terms of digitalization and modernizing public administration. Serbia has done a lot apropos developing e-government and it was my great honour to present these results at the Forum. At the same time, I was glad to hear about services that other regional governments have developed. I also had an opportunity to talk to my Macedonian counterpart, Damjan Mančevski who was very interested in our reform of inspection supervision thanks to which we now better coordinate the work done by inspection bodies which now play more of an advisory role rather than a repressive one. The effects of this reform are excellent. Since the beginning of this year, the number of newly registered companies has grown, and it currently stands at 20,284..

something here - the law will not reduce anyone's current salary.

This law can only increase salaries depending on the savings made in the budget. We will define the value of all jobs in public services and estimate how much salaries in education and health should differ for instance, i.e. we need to differentiate between the salary of an admission nurse and an ER nurse.

By doing so, we are creating a system that is manageable, transparent and fair, which has certainly not been for decades, and to finally have motivated employees who will better serve the citizens.

Only in a well-regulated system, which will ensure a fairer distribution of money, employment of best candidates, employees enjoying more protection, rewarding quality and having dedicated staff, we can expect our citizens to be satisfied with the quality of services they receive in hospitals, schools, cultural institutions or from social services...

How ready are local civil servants to respond to the challenges of new working conditions, including a much more dynamic interaction with foreign investors?

— Together with the EU and SKGO, the Ministry has organized several training sessions. We are constantly working on having a two-way communication with local civil servants, because only if we share the same view that changes are good for all of us, we can actually implement them. Again, this boils down to our key tasks - education and skills improvement.

You have recently introduced 188 models of administrative procedures in nine areas at the local level. What does this mean in practical terms when it comes to the attitude that local authorities have towards citizens and businesses?

— There are locally-defined jobs, created by a municipality or city itself, and there are jobs defined at the state level. We have given directives to local governments how to skip administrative procedures when it comes to performing the tasks defined by the state, and recommendations for locally-defined jobs. All these changes are accompanied by adequate training. It is important that we make the work performed by the public administration less burdening on citizens and business people so that they can invest their time and money in right things.

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PO LI TI C S Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

The Toxic Weapon Or why sanctions don't work

people, the ordinary people, will suffer enormously.

STRENGTHENING THE ENEMY

After the latest set of sanctions was imposed against Russia by the U.S., many in the EU, and not only businesspeople, became allergic and itchy. Sometimes too much is just too much, and after this unprecedented move was called “a stampede” – by no less than The Washington Post... Oh yes!

Let me quote it: “The House passed the legislation 419 to 3; the Senate voted 98 to 2. That’s the congressional version of a stampede.” Not only is this going to harm the European economy, but it also damages America’s authority and raises questions over the sanity of its policy. Former secretary of the treasury Jacob Lew noted the U.S.’s growing tendency to use sanctions as a cureall in foreign policy. By limiting access to U.S. financial markets in order to punish countries for behaviour that the U.S. doesn’t like, the sanctions tool ultimately risks undermining the primacy of the dollar and U.S. financial institutions. It all backfires in the end.

AGAINST THE PEOPLE, NOT THE LEADERS

Of course, being from Serbia, all the people here reacted in disgust.

We were the first to feel the impact of such sanctions, and let me tell you that those sanctions only made us angrier, less prone to dialogue, creating several generations of young people born in the ‘90s who are isolationists and fierce nationalists; it damaged our ability to become an EU member with our full economic capacity, rendering us permanently unstable. And the government that the sanctions

The Cuban government would have long since collapsed if there were no sanctions against Cuba.

Milošević would have been ousted long before 2000 if sanctions hadn’t been imposed. Sanctions always strengthen the enemy, as the people tend to gather around the leader and blame foreigners and their sanctions for their bad life, and not the leader himself. You may call it an example of the Stockholm syndrome, but it is so. Moreover, as the Russian example shows,

SANCTIONS USUALLY DON'T WORK IN THE WAY YOU THINK THEY WILL. IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, IT’S ABOUT THE SPITE, AND SPITE IS A POWERFUL FEELING were intended to hurt? It didn’t feel them. If there aren’t enough resources, the government’s members will be fed first. Also, if in the ‘90s they wanted sanctions to stop Serbia from waging wars, well, I’ll have to disappoint you by informing you that the Army was a priority, just as it is today in North Korea.

You think you will hurt Kim's army or Kim's party? Nope! They will be fine – just like Saddam in Iraq. The army and politicians will remain intact, but the children and the

it also wakes people up. Russia effectively destroyed its agriculture in the ‘90s, becoming heavily dependent on food imports from the Baltic States and Poland, but now Russians are increasingly reviving their own agriculture, with investments that surpass even those of Soviet reconstruction times. New brands of cheese and dairy have been developed. And when one day sanctions are lifted, Polish and Baltic manufacturers will return to a market with a depleted share

available to them. This is quite similar to the situation after the October Revolution, when the West imposed sanctions against the new USSR. Stalin responded with rapid industrialisation, cities gained their own metro transport systems, many suffered but the aim was achieved. Franco's sanctions, which cut off Gibraltar between 1950 and 1984, only served to strengthen the will of Gibraltarians not to be part of Spain. The sanctions imposed by the League of Nations against Italy in 1935 and ’36 for the annexation of Ethiopia only compelled Italians to stand by Mussolini and served to increase their production and consumption. The sanctions imposed by the USSR and Comecon against Yugoslavia in the 1948-1955 period were yet another example – with the resolution of Informbiro, when the country mobilised with Tito and additionally turned Westerds, triggering great GDP growth in Yugoslavia and representing an additional counter-turning point for the country's Western orientation.

A country that was only moderately “Western” turned more squarely towards capitalist countries. After the sanctions, although it had applied Soviet reactionism until 1948, the country began to introduce market relations, a consumer society and market, liberal socialism, including the emergence of Western music, films, goods and the like. The sanctions proved a complete failure.

THE DAMAGE IS EVERYWHERE The current regime of sanctions against Russia has cost the EU 100 billion euros, and damaged Russia by as much as €50 billion. Some 200,000 jobs have been lost in Italy alone, which is itself severely hit by crisis anyway. And you think Putin will change anything? No! Sanctions are like state-sponsored terrorism. And when terror strikes, everyone spitefully opposes it. The Continental Block imposed against the UK by Napoleon only turned people against his rule, even though they’d initially felt liberated by him. It turned Russia against France, leading to the Russian Campaign and the eventual abdication and disaster of the Grande Armée.

After the recent blocking of Visa and MasterCard in Russia,

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on 1st April 2015, Russia launched its own national transaction system for card payments, i.e., for conducting transactions within the territory of the Russian Federation. Sberbank, Russia's leading bank, started issuing the cards in October 2016 and by year’s end some 1.76 million Mir cards had been issued by 64 banks, rising to over five million by April 2017 and 10 million by July 2017. JCB, American Express and MasterCard immediately started cobranding. Russia introduced the Chinese UnionPay card.

The conclusion? Sanctions usually don't work in the way you think they will. It’s not about the money, it’s about the spite, and spite is a powerful feeling.

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NATIONAL DAYS

ARRI VALS & D EPAR T UR E S

in September & October

SEPTEMBER

SONJA SARKÖZI Board Member for Retail at Sberbank Europe

As of 1 August 2017, Sonja Sarközi has been appointed as Board Member responsible for Retail Banking (Chief Retail Banking Officer) at Sberbank Europe Group. “With Sonja Sarközi becoming a Member of our Board, we are welcoming a true retail heavyweight in our banking group. Her profound expertise based on more than 20 years of banking experience with particular focus on retail and digitalization will be of great value for our retail business activities in our CEE markets and in Germany,” said Gerhard Randa, CEO of Sberbank

Europe. Over the past years, Sonja Sarközi has been successfully leading easybank AG as CEO. Sonja Sarközi has developed Austria’s direct bank into a full-scale retail bank with more than 570,000 bank accounts. At Sberbank Europe, Sonja Sarközi will be in the lead for developing and implementing a successful group-wide digital strategy while streamlining the effectiveness of the retail sales strategy in CEE and Germany, optimizing brand awareness and maximizing the usage of synergies across all markets of Sberbank Europe.

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MEXICO rito de Dolores G (beginning of the War of Independence)

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CHILE

The First Junta Day

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ARMENIA

Independence Day

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SAUDI ARABIA

VLADIMIR ILIĆ

The Supervisory Board of the Pirotbased Tigar Company has appointed Vladimir Ilić as the new CEO of the company. Ilić is going to replace the current CEO, Branislav Čurić – the company says.

Prior to his appointment, Ilić, who has a Bachelor degree in law, was a state secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Issues, and had been actively participating in task forces in the Ministry, in the part that concerns social services and improving the related regulation.

For three years he was also the director of the City Social Services

Photo: www.mc.rs

New CEO of the Tigar Company

Centre in Belgrade, and has ten years of experience working as a lawyer for the Centre’s branch in Lazarevac.

Tigar’s statement also reads that, in the past fourteen months, the former CEO of the company, Branislav Čurić had managed to convert the company’s debt into state creditors’ capital in line with the Decree adopted by the Serbian government on 13th September, 2016.

This resulted in Tigar being free from the old debt dating back from 2013, in the amount of 2.2 billion dinars (or 17.8 million EUR), which was extremely beneficial for the company.

nification U (of Nejd and Hejaz) Day

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CZECHIA

St. Wenceslas Day

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BOTSWANA

Independence Day

OCTOBER

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CHINA

National Day

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MAJDA KRŠIKAPA

CYPRUS

New director of the Anti-Corruption Agency

The Anti-Corruption Agency has a new director after nine months of deliberation. The new director of this independent body is Majda Kršikapa, who has been appointed to that position following the unanimous vote by the Agency’s Board.

According to her biography, posted on the Agency’s official website, Majda Kršikapa has been the Secretary of the

Independence Day

High Judicial Council since 2009.

Prior to that, she was the head of the regional office of the Danish Human Rights Institute. The Anti-Corruption Agency’s Board, which voted in favour of appointing Kršikapa, has six members.

The Agency has not had a director since mid-December last year, when the then director, Tatjana Babić was appointed judge at the Constitutional Court.

NIGERIA

National Day

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GUINEA

National Day

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INDIA

MILORAD VUČELIĆ Acting Editor-in-Chief of Večernje Novosti

Journalist with wealth of experience, founder of Pečat weekly, and the current president of the Yugoslav Sport Society ‘Partizan’, Milorad Vučelić was appointed acting Editor-in-Chief of the Večernje Novosti daily, and all editions published by the Novosti Company.

Vučelić was appointed following the unanimous decision made by the

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Supervisory Board of the Novosti AD Company. After the recent appointment of the company’s CEO, and now acting editor-in-chief, the company’s management is complete. Milorad Vučelić was born in 1948, and he is a lawyer. Although, he has been a journalist for considerable amount of time now, he was also involved in politics.

ahatma M Gandhi’s Birthday

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GERMANY

German Unity Day

03

IRAQ

Independence Day

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I NTERVIEW

Serbia Seems to be Broadly on the Right Track Serbia’s image as a place to do business has improved significantly and investors are continuing to look for opportunities here

DANIEL BERG EBRD Director for Serbia

All countries understand the importance of integration as the region as a whole is much bigger, and a much more valuable market than the individual countries by themselves. They, however, need funds, technical support and some external incentives to go ahead with the process.

The EU approximation and the support of IFIs can be one of the important factors along the way.

Do you think that the sluggish growth of Serbia's GDP is just a temporary effect caused by unfavorable climate conditions, or is it a serious sign that there is something wrong with the Serbian economy?

— Speaking first about projections for 2017; it is still early to make a full assessment but based on the early first half figures, growth could be lower in 2017 than we and others had envisaged earlier. There are numerous factors impacting on the 2017 growth figures. For example, cold weather earlier this year and very hot weather this summer both will likely lead to lower overall agricultural output compared with a very strong performance last year.

Also, weakness in mining and associated electricity generation were surprise factors. Frontloading some planned government projects may have a positive impact on growth in

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the last quarter, but are not expected to offset the weak first half year and will not have significant longterm effects on growth.

The poor figures in the first half of 2017 do not necessarily indicate a long-term trend. The EBRD retains a view that in the long term there is every possibility that the Serbian economy (and wages) will catch-up or “converge” with central Europe and eventually average EU levels. Higher growth and longterm convergence, however, do require further reforms to support the business environment. These include less state intervention in the economy, making state-owned enterprises more efficient and better governed as well as cutting red tape (for example, through reducing the administrative burden of

In the 25 years of your career, you have witnessed and assisted in transition of many countries in this part of Europe. Considering the knowledge and experience you have gained during this process, what is your view of the

FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, BUT ALSO IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE COULD ENHANCE COMPETITIVENESS inspections) and improving judicial processes. We believe this will result in higher investment and therefore jobs, exports and growth.

It is also important to ensure greater economic inclusion – helping more women, more youth, more regions to contribute to Serbia’s economic growth. Some factors which have caused volatile growth performance recently also point to the importance of focusing on “resilience”, for example, converting to greater renewable sources in electricity generation or improving irrigation systems.

current reforms in Serbia and present challenges?

— There have been important reforms implemented in the past two years. The fiscal adjustment which has been implemented with the guidance of the IMF’s three-year precautionary Stand-By Agreement has yielded results.

However, more can and should be done. Despite the fiscal and budgetary successes, public debt remains high at around 70 per cent of GDP. And many large public companies remain to be restructured or privatised – a lack of re-

forms creates a potential threat to the country’s economic successes since they can be a drag on the fiscal resources needed elsewhere.

The business environment has improved due to regulatory changes adopted since 2014 (for example, electronic permitting, improved real estate registration). But there is room for further improvements, especially in the areas of governance and institutions (for example, making judicial processes more efficient).

A continued successful investment- and export-led growth strategy depends on maintaining and further strengthening the business climate improvements (both macro stability and structural reforms).

Overall, Serbia seems to be broadly on the right track but faster implementation of reforms, especially if they are underpinned by a new IMF programme, would support faster convergence to EU income levels and make the country more attractive to investors.

Last year, you defined desirable qualities of market economies

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in the region. Which specific criteria should Serbia meet in order to have a functional market economy?

— Serbia does have a functioning market economy. However, there are significant so-called ”transition gaps” when we compare with the “high-performing” economies.

According to the EBRD’s assessment, Serbia faces the largest gaps in three areas: competitiveness, governance and resilience. How to address these gaps? In the area of governance, for example, corporate governance, both in state and private enterprises can be strengthened. Shareholders, board members and managers all should have clear roles and should be trained and empowered to work for the good of their companies. The economy can be more competitive through the inclusion of currently disadvantaged groups (for example, youth and older people, women or Roma) who can be brought into the labour force.

Further improvements in the business environment, but also in the infrastructure could enhance competitiveness – I personally believe that the country should more fully utilise its river infrastructure.

Finally, more reliance on renewables is desirable and we are pleased that this year the first wind farm projects are under construction.

There is also a need and an opportunity to better utilise the country’s biomass and water resources.

There are also both environmental and economic reasons to improve recycling and green technologies.

One global financial crisis has just ended, and yet some economy experts warn that another one may be just around the corner. How resistant are the countries that you cooperate with to external shocks and how can EBRD help them in dealing with future challenges?

— The EBRD’s countries of operations are all very different in terms of resilience and vulnerability to external shocks. That is why we attempt to tailor our interventions based on a diagnostic study assessing the abovementioned transition gaps and develop an individual strategy for each country.

In the case of Serbia, our previous strategy focused on the need to develop the private sector and increase competitiveness, to bolster the banking sector (generally) and deepen financial intermediation, and to develop sustainable and efficient public utilities. Our

investment and technical assistance activities tried to tackle these issues, including through Advice for Small Business, a loan and assistance to the deposit insurance agency, continued financing and assistance for utilities such as EPS and GSP, and key private sector in-

disputes between the CEFTA countries, and between the CEFTA countries and Croatia?

— Regional integration is very important for the Western Balkans region and important steps have been taken in the transport and energy infrastructure. Most of the

WE DO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS TO HELP IMPROVE GOVERNANCE IN BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC COMPANIES vestments. We do hope to expand our private sector financing further in the next strategy period as we know that private sector led growth will help ensure the economic success of Serbia.

At the Trieste Summit you promoted further regional integration. How ready are the countries in the region to do just that considering relatively frequent

focus of the past 15 years has been to support north-south integration. We are now seeing increased interest in east-west integration.

For example, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania can all take advantage of better connected power grids.

Serbia could benefit from better access to Adriatic ports as well.

Serbia’s CEFTA membership has been also very welcome. CEFTA, as earlier in the case of CEE coun-

FUNCTIONAL STATE INSTITUTIONS- A SUCCESSFUL MARKET EBRD has been focusing on boosting competitiveness in public utility companies. Do you think that the management in these companies has enough will and readiness to improve their companies' operations??

— We do work with our partners to help improve governance in both private and public companies. In the public sector, we currently have significant support initiatives under way at the Deposit Insurance Agency, EPS, GSP and Komercijalna Banka. Each case is different but we generally see willingness to address governance and operational concerns. These are publicly owned utilities and there are social and political issues which emerged.

Therefore, it is important to keep full support of the shareholder (that is, the state) and to maintain an open and transparent dialogue with Serbian citizens – they should understand that some short-term pain should bring long-term gains for the entire economy.

tries, has played a significant role in facilitating cross-border trade by establishing a comprehensive free trade agreement in the Western Balkans region and replacing 32 bilateral agreements that were not mutually consistent. It also provides full liberalisation for virtually all manufacturing goods and most agricultural goods. It has also addressed the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade between the signatory countries, the protection of intellectual property rights in accordance with international standards and the harmonisation of provisions on modern trade policy issues such as competition rules and state aid.

Serbia has been recording quite good results in terms of reducing unemployment, but, salary wise, workers in Serbia are way below their peers from CE countries.

How can we bridge this gap?

— In short, by raising productivity.

Serbia’s productivity (value added per worker) is about one fifth of the EU average so, until this changes, Serbian producers can mainly compete with EU peers because wages are also lower. In the long run of course wages should converge to EU levels but in line with improvements in productivity.

This is not a simple task and will take time. But productivity is to be improved by making the country more business-friendly, and Serbia will be able to attract investors who can bring cutting-edge technologies, innovation and training of workers.

The government can take action which will make the economy more business friendly and IFIs are supporting their efforts. The EBRD’s own Investment Climate and Governance Initiative aims at some of these. For example, we are supporting the Ministry of Public Administration to carry out reforms of the inspections regime.

We are helping the Ministry of Justice to introduce and strengthen alternative dispute resolution.

We are assisting in improving the governance of state-owned enterprises. Meanwhile, our Advice for Small Business team is helping SMEs to become better-managed and more successful in the market. Perhaps most importantly, we are ready to team up with investors who can bring new technologies and new ways of doing business to Serbia.

All these can contribute to more successful, more productive companies that can pay higher wages.

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I NTERVIEW

Plenty of Room for Enhanced Cooperation Excellent understanding, great potential

understanding between the two nations and friendly relations, is this diplomatic situation not paradoxical?

PREDRAG TOMIĆ Ph.D., Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia to Serbia

Armenia and Serbia are two countries connected by the same religion and tragic destinies, but also skilled and cordial people.

The nations’ cultural connections date back to the early Middle Ages, improved by Armenian architects bringing details of Armenian origin to Moravian style in the Serbian mediaeval kingdom. Later, a significant minority of Armenian merchants made a great influx into Serbian cities, particularly Novi Sad and Belgrade. Now, once again, the two countries are independent, but their mutual economic, diplomatic and cultural relations are not sufficiently developed. We talked to the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia to Serbia, Mr Predrag Tomić, Ph.D., about the potential for further cooperation.

Armenia and Serbia do not have embassies in each other's capitals, but rather only honorary consuls. Given that there is great

— On 12th April 2012, the Republic of Armenia opened its Consulate in Belgrade for the first time, with me as the Honorary Consul. The Republic of Serbia is covered diplomatically by the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Athens, where Ambassador Fadey Tsartsoglian is the accredited ambassador to Serbia resident in Athens.

Likewise, Serbian Ambassador in Athens, Dušan Spasojević, is simul-

the excellent, friendly bilateral relations between Armenia and Serbia, the diplomatic missions of both countries can be expected to rise to an even higher level soon.

What can be done to enhance relations between our countries, in both a political and an economic sense, but also in terms of cultural exchanges?

— There are several ways to improve mutual relations between Armenia and Serbia. First is the promotion of economic cooperation between the two countries.

CONSIDERING THE VERY GOOD MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND SERBIA, THE POTENTIAL FOR COOPERATION IS RECOGNISED IN STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC TIES AND DEVELOPING COOPERATION IN TOURISM, CULTURE AND SPORT

taneously Serbia’s ambassador to Armenia, resident in Athens. Serbia’s Honorary Consul in Armenia is famous poet and translator Babken Simonjan. Taking into account

In order to achieve this, in March 2014, with the help of the Armenian Consulate in Belgrade, the Armenia-Serbia Business Forum was held in Yerevan, with the par-

ticipation of 13 Serbian and 25 Armenian companies. This business forum was opened by then-Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić. The result of the Forum is that foreign trade between Armenia and Serbia has increased fivefold. As far as cultural cooperation is concerned, there have been lots of incentives.

How would you assess the potential for cooperation?

— Considering the very good mutual relations between Armenia and Serbia, the potential for cooperation is recognised in strengthening economic ties and developing cooperation in tourism, culture and sport.

What can be done in the future given that there are many things that connect the Serbian and Armenian peoples, including their sharing a similar destiny?

— The greatest contribution to the comprehensive development of Armenian-Serbian relations would be the mutual abolition of visas and the establishing of direct flights between Belgrade and Yerevan. These two issues were the topic of serious discussion at a meeting of senior representatives of Armenia and Serbia, thus we hope sincerely that visas will be abolished and that a flight lasting only two and a half hours will connect Belgrade and Yerevan directly. This would have a positive impact on visits of businesspeople and tourists from both countries, which would certainly increase and further improve mutual cooperation between the two countries significantly.

ART AS A WEAPON OF FRIENDSHIP From 21st to 28th March 2013, the Armenian Consulate in Belgrade organised a photography exhibition at the city’s Russian Home entitled “Armenian Biblical Land Below Ararat”, with photos by world-renowned Armenian artist Zaven Sarkisjan, director of the Parajanov Museum in Yerevan. The exhibition ran for seven days and had an extraordinary number of visitors, who left silently satisfied by the works. The Belgrade Documentary Film Festival of October 2016 featured a screening of the film “Traces of War", a work of famous Armenian producer David Safarian that was also screened at numerous other film festivals worldwide, winning many first prizes. Although the title mentions war, the film actually carries a message of peace, as it addresses the daily lives of Armenian people in Nagorno-Karabakh and their great desire for peace.

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CO RPO RATE MESSER TEHNOGAS AD BEOGRAD

What Makes a Great Foreign Investor What seems to be unimaginable to others, represents one of Messer's biggest distinction: enhanced quality of its products along with very competitive pricing Partnering with Tehnogas, Messer joined the Serbian market back in 1997, a moment when many others would opt for a different destination. The decision turned out to be a winning one, as the following two decades unraveled into a success story few others had the pleasure to experience.

Marking its 20th anniversary, Messer Tehnogas is now a leader in producing and distributing industrial, medical and specialty gases, and cutting and welding equipment in Serbia, and owes its position to a tradition of high-quality products and genuine customer care, very competitive pricing, as well as care for the community.

Offering a perfect combination of German professionalism and high-end technology on the one side, and Serbian passion and commitment on the other side, Messer was immediately seen as an indispensable partner, earning the trust of many.

Messer quickly showed that its intentions were serious by in-

vesting major funds and efforts to improve the business environment and by developing local production capacities.

What seems to be unimaginable to others, represents one of Messer's biggest distinction: enhanced quality of its products along with competitive pricing.

Company's comprehensive and specialized expertise in application technology is main factor to the optimization of processes in terms of quality, economy and innovation. Being the only producer of oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and helium in Serbia, the company manages to fully supply the local market, using the capacities of 3 Air Separation Units, as well as other gases’ production plants and filling stations. Messer Tehnogas has in-house engineering, installation and technical service teams and over 50 tank trailers and trucks guaranteeing its customers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year technical and logistical coverage.

Service quality is one of the top priorities for the company, given

MORE THAN 300 APPLICATION TECHNOLOGIES MAKE MESSER A COMMON INGREDIENT IN A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES

the fact that Messer Tehnogas has obtained all relevant certificates in the field.

It is the first and only company in Serbia with the Certificate of GMP compliance from a European Ministry of Health for the medical liquid oxygen and nitrous oxide products.

Paying great attention to safety, health, quality and environment, it has certified the Quality Management System and the Environmental Management System for the design, production and sales of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, acetylene, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and gas mixtures, and fulfilled the requirements according to ISO 9001-2015, ISO 14001-2015 and FSSC 22000 standard.

More than 300 application technologies make Messer a common ingredient in a variety

of industries. Though invisible to the naked eye, the gases are a key element in drinking water purification, freezing and conserving food, fish farms, carbonizing soft drinks and packaging non-carbonated liquids, greenhouses, waste water treatment, application of oxygen and nitrous oxide in medicine, metallurgical processes, cutting and welding, petrochemical and chemical industry, recycling waste materials, and many more.

Continuing its mission to hold the leading position in Serbia and in Southeast Europe, the plans for the future include a number of significant investments, the promotion of environment-friendly techniques, the initiation of the new CSR projects thereby contributing to the overall positive development of the country.

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PO LI TI C S Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Serbia as a New Singapore The Island of its own

in. Nikita Mikhalkov, one of the greatest filmmakers of our time, argued philosophically that Russia is actually out of Europe and is Eurasian as opposed to European.

In short, he argued, it is a blend of European and Asian cultures, just like Turkey. Okay, if there is such a thing, and we will not have a United Europe from Casablanca to Tel Aviv, from Vladivostok to Baku, or from Reykjavik to Almaty, where Serbia faces an uncertain future in an uncertain world. Rough winds are blowing from many sides and, as they used to say in Indochina, “when elephants fight, it is grass the grass that suffers”. And in an omnipresent atmosphere of “who is not with me, is against me”, it is tough to have your own mind and your say.

But here's an opportunity. With so many conflicting influences and pressures, this is an ideal time to state what you are.

HIGH-SCHOOL DILEMMA

Imagine things like that. You are a teen in a high school. There is only one dominant narrative: everyone dresses the same and listens to the same music. So, you have the choice of blending in or of being an outcast and a freak.

This was the situation in the ‘90s, when Serbia was an outcast, unable to understand that Yeltsin's Russia didn’t care about itself, let alone anyone else, drowning as it was in stolen privatisations and rampant crime. Twenty years on, there are many cliques and clichés, many dominant narratives. The EU is simultaneously willing to expand and unwillingly shrinking; the U.S. is still engaged in its own controversial politics all around the world, Russia is on the comeback trail, Turkey has woken up to a neo-Ottoman dream, China is the new superpower, the IMF and World Bank are still dominant factors, while the WTO is yet another player in the game... The world has changed to the point at which we

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JUST FIND YOUR OWN WAY, AS ALL OTHER WAYS ARE NOT YOURS. AS OSCAR WILDE SAID, “BE YOURSELF, EVERYONE ELSE IS ALREADY TAKEN” how have no common consensus on same-sex marriages, GMO food or what freedom even means? So you can dress anyway you want – there are too many styles of dress and types of music to choose from – or start your own new style.

THE THIRD WAY, OR ANY OTHER NUMBER

In the late ‘90s there was a dilemma about what Europe is and where it ends. Turkey and Russia were considered part of it, but not, depending on the point of view. Even Morocco wanted

is the border between Europe and the rest of the world? I guess all countries, both those within these “blocs” and those out of them, should speak loudly – just like Poland and the Visegrad Four. As there are no uniform values, why would we not state who we are?

AND WHO ARE WE?

I think Serbia should be a kind of new Singapore, or new Hong Kong, in Europe… or a new Lebanon, a new Switzerland, a new Azerbaijan or a new Iceland. Just pick the most convenient allegory.

BE YOURSELF We can’t be as rich as the “perpetually neutral” Switzerland, but we can at least be like Azerbaijan, which stays in the shade between powerful neighbours like Iran, Russia, Turkey and the ubiquitous America, Or we can be like Israel, Lebanon, Dubai, Panama, wherever. Just find your own way, as all other ways are not yours. As Oscar Wilde said, “be yourself, everyone else is already taken”.

I chose Singapore, as a rebellious island that is multicultural. They left the Federation of Malaya because they wanted to go their own way. That was a kind of Brexit, right? And it would be great to be equally open to everyone. We want Lebanese buildings and restaurants alongside Israeli apartment blocks and shopping centres, regardless of how much they hate each other in their homeland region and have occasional border closures and wars. We want Indian and Chinese investments side by side, Arab and European, Russian and American.

And not only that... We should respect the wishes of the people.

If they strongly disapprove of GMO, we should ban it, regardless of what that implies. Military neutrality is also desirable. If the people are not ready to accept the no-smoking concept, dismiss that concept. I am personally a non-smoker, but I am glad there is a country where you can smoke freely like you could in America in the ‘90s. There should be a country where you can freely buy beer from a kiosk at 4am. There should be a country where the Chinese will come first to familiarise themselves with Europe, and to see major rock stars at music festivals, like Exit. We should be that hub, like Hong Kong, where everything meets and mingles, and where everyone respects each other, like Remarque's Lisbon or Casablanca in the eponymous film. Like the Tangier International Zone. Come in peace, bring your smile and your money, then leave in peace… or stay. There are several thousand Russians and Ukrainians resident in Novi Sad at the moment, and that number is increasing. Many French and Belgians have found their home in Novi Sad, the Capital of Culture. I met an American chess champion living in Novi Sad, who says that it is a great place for going to tournaments, as it is in the middle of Europe and there is a strong chess scene in Serbia. Welcome all!

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C O RPO RATE SBERBANK SERBIA

43% Growth of Cash Loans Sberbank Serbia is the first bank in Serbia to join a prestigious international certification programme called Customers' Friend in January 2017, thus validating the exceptionally high quality of its services and both client and employee relations, as well as justifying the bank's designation – „Because We Appreciate Our Clients“

its comprehensive portfolio of banking services.

In the first half of 2017, Sberbank recorded a growth of retail cash loans to the amount of 3.3 billion dinars, which is a 43% hike compared to the same period last years. In the first six months of this year, the bank generated a profit in the amount of 635 million dinars, which is a 35% growth relative to the same period last year. The said result was accomplished thanks to the growth in the number of clients,

tionally satisfied with the achieved results which reflect the success of our business model based on innovation, digitalization, swift recognition of market demands, and the quality of service. The generated profit is a synergy between many initiatives and projects through which we are improving our offer and increasing our operational efficiency“, Ms Vasilescu said and added: „Deposit growth is the best indicator of how much our clients trust us, while a signficant hike in

approved retail cash loans of 43% demonstrates that our offer suits our clients' needs“.

The bank's digital services have also been recording a stable growth in the number of retail users. In the first six months, the number of registered users grew by 20% with the biggest growth recorded in the mobile banking segment - 48%.

Sberbank Serbia is the first bank in Serbia to enable its clients payments via their mobile phones by scanning 2D bar codes. This new and unique services on the Scan2Pay domicile market allows users to pay their bills in a simple and faster manner than ever before with the maximum precision in data entry. Sberbank Serbia is committed to further developing digital products and services.

The bank is also among the top 5 banks in Serbia in terms of the share that its operating costs have in revenue, while capital adequacy has been constantly growing, and ending on 30th June, 2017, it stood at 23.86%. The number of granted loans to small and medium enterprises has recorded a significant growth of 34%, while in the big corporate client segment several large-scale transations have been realized as a result of new and existing contracts.

Sberbank Serbia has positioned itself on the market as a bridge between Serbian and Russian compa-

Vladimir Pajović, Member of the Executive Board, Finance and Risk

Mariana Vasilescu, CEO Sberbank Serbia

Vladimir Bošković, Executive Director, Corporate and SME Banking

Sberbank Serbia is a part of the Sberbank Europe Group. The bank operates on the entire territory of Serbia, and has a total of 33 branches in 21 towns. It provides all sorts of services and products, both for the retail and SME sectors. In combination with its expertise and its employees' focus on clients, Sberbank Serbia is a unique partner in building bridges between companies in Serbia, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States with

improved operational efficiency, and optimization of operating costs.

The number of total granted retail loans has grown by 23%, or over a billion dinars. The retail deposits recorded a 10% growth, and currently stand at 31.5 billion dinars. The total profit in the retail segment stands at 477 million dinars, which, relative to the same period in 2016, is a 79% hike.

The Chairwoman of Sberbank Serbia's Executive Board, Marijana Vasilescu comments on the accomplished results: „We are excep-

WE ARE EXCEPTIONALLY SATISFIED WITH THE ACHIEVED RESULTS WHICH REFLECT THE SUCCESS OF OUR BUSINESS MODEL BASED ON INNOVATION, DIGITALIZATION, SWIFT RECOGNITION OF MARKET DEMANDS, AND THE QUALITY OF SERVICE

nies which have a signficant share in the external trade with Russia.

Apart from offering new products and services, the bank's noticeable progress in the first half of 2017 is a result of a more effecient cost management, as well as of responsible risk management policy which create a solid foundation for further investments in new projects. Innovation and tailor-made products, in addition to the quality services, are strategic directions that the bank will base its offer in the future too.

KEY RESULTS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2017 Net profit amounted to 635 million dinars • Retail cash loans grew by 43% and RSD 3.3 billion respectively.

• Retail loans amounted to more than one billion dinars, which is a 23% increase compared to the same period of the previous year.

• Retail deposits grew by 10% and amounted to RSD 31.5 billion.

• The growth of registered digital banking retail users has increased by 20% since the beginning of 2017.

• Loans to small and medium-sized enterprises grew by 34% compared to the same period in 2016.

• Net fee income increased by 27% and amounted to RSD 668 million.

• Among top 5 banks according to the share of operating expenses in revenues.

• Operating expenses are kept at the same level as in the same period of the previous year.

• Capital adequacy is 23.86%. * Data compiled ending with 30.06.2017

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L E LO N G L AYO F F

Europe’s No Business as Usual Summer “Fellesferie” and “bouwvak” refer to a particularly European business habit

Don't you know about our summer?” asks a spokesperson of a Swedish multinational, himself presumably on holiday as kids chirp in the background. Almost everyone is gone until September, he says. At a German multinational, “the whole board is away for August,” admits a spokesperson. Faced with a slew of out-of-office messages across corporate Europe, there seems little choice for a business correspondent but to report on the phenomenon itself.

The practice of collectively taking July or August off dates from the Industrial Revolution, when it made sense to send off all assembly-line workers simultaneously. In England’s north entire factories used to descend on the same resorts. As any tourist who has found themselves in front of an ice-cream shop that is closed during a sizzling southern European summer will know, it has spread beyond factory jobs.

Until 2015 France had a rule that mandated some bakeries to stay open in August, so that Parisians—or rather tourists, because no chic Parisian wants to be seen in town during the summer—wouldn’t be deprived of baguettes.

So empty is the city that month that the average speed of cars on a key ring road jumps from

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38kph (24mph) to 52kph. Some of the best restaurants in Cyprus close in the tourist season.

“Summer is near and Frankie will take a nap for a while,” says the site of Frankie’s Social, a trendy bar in Limassol.

Much of Milan becomes deserted as well. In the artsy district of Brera, Rita Zubelli runs an ice-cream parlour with her parents and brother.

It will close shop for two weeks shortly. Why not hire someone to serve tourists? Italian law has stricter rules for firms with non-family members—the staff toilet would have to be moved from the basement.

IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES INCLUDING GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS, WORKERS AND TRADE UNIONS HAVE BEGUN TO PRESS FOR MORE FLEXIBLE LEAVE POLICIES It is not only the south that goes in for summer sloth. Production workers at Porsche, a German carmaker, are on a compulsory threeweek break. In Norway fellesferie refers to a period of collective leave in July, when many firms shut and services including banks run on

summer hours. In the Netherlands the bouwvak still means that many construction workers must take three weeks off in July and August.

The timing is doubly puzzling for the industry because demand is strong and summer is the best time to build in a wet country. Even some police stations are shut in August. Presumably crime takes a break, too.

Though Europe’s appetite for summer holidays is easy to mock, of the ten most productive countries in the world (judged by per-hour productivity) only one—America, in fifth place—is not in Europe. Still, in several countries including Germany and the Netherlands, workers and trade unions have begun to press for more flexible leave policies; not everyone wants to go on holiday at a set time when prices are highest.

Firms that trade globally have had to adapt to demand from those parts of the world—especially Asia—that do not slow over summer and that expect someone in Europe to answer the phone. But though the European summer may spread itself out a little more over the year, there is scant sign that Europeans will cut down on their beach and mountain time.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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C O RPO RATE LUFTHANSA

50 Years of Love at First Flight This year, Lufthansa is proudly celebrating its 50th anniversary in Serbia under the slogan “50 years of love at first flight”

On 26th August 1967, Lufthansa Boeing 727, named Kiel, after the eponymous town in Germany, landed in Belgrade for the first time. In the beginning, Lufthansa flew to Belgrade twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from Frankfurt via Munich.

The flight lasted four hours.

LUFTHANSA IN SERBIA TODAY

Today, Lufthansa has 14 direct flights a week directly from Belgrade to its most important airport – Frankfurt, and 13 flights a week

to Munich. Lufthansa connects Serbia to over 200 destinations worldwide via Frankfurt and Munich.

LUFTHANSA GROUP

Lufthansa Group, which apart from Lufthansa, is also represented in Serbia by Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Eurowings, offers a total of 62 direct flights from Belgrade and Niš (SWISS) a week to its most important airports – Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, and Stuttgart. Via these airports, Serbia is globally connected to 308 destinations in 103 countries.

DID YOU KNOW?

Airbus A350 the most modern and ecologically most efficient aircraft

With over 600 planes, Lufthansa Group is one of the biggest airline groups in the world with the most modern fleet. By 2025, the members of Lufthansa Group will have taken over an additional 205 planes. The goal is to increase passenger comfort, and reduce fuel consumption and emission of harmful gases.

•T he new Terminal 2 – Satellite, opened in April last year, and Terminal 2 at Munich Airport are connected via an underground transport system, and it takes less than a minute to get from one to the other. The new satellite terminal is a result of a successful and longstanding cooperation between two partners – Munich Airport and Lufthansa.

• Lufthansa is one of the founders of Star Alliance, the biggest association of airliners in the world,

which comprises of 28 partner-airline companies which have 18,500 flights a day to over 1,300 airports in more than 190 countries.

• Miles & More is the leading European frequent flyer and award programme.

• Lufthansa provides exceptional comfort to its passengers in over 70 Lufthansa lounges and 900 partner lounges at airports around the world.

• Lufthansa’s slogan – Non-Stop You – underlines the fact that the airliner pays full attention to passengers throughout their journey; from the moment they book their ticket to the moment they land.

• You can book flights with Lufthansa on the LH.com website, or by calling Lufthansa Call Centre on 011 / 3034-944, or with your travel agent.

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CO RPO RATE

Premium Service for Premium Clients Star Import, General distributor of Mercedes-Benz launches new attractive offers for diplomats

MIROSLAV VRCELJ Fleet Sales Manager MercedesBenz and smart, Star Import

Since the beginning of the year, MercedesBenz has handed over 783,520 vehicles to customers (+12.8%) and can thus count on the best unit sales result in any half year in the company’s history to date. This puts the German manufacturer into first place in the premium segment in the world. In Serbia, MercedesBenz is also on the top of the premium segment. What is behind this success? According to Miroslav Vrcelj, Fleet Sales Manager Mercedes-Benz and smart at Star Import, it is mainly innovation in technology as well as design and excellence in customer service.

DIPLOMATIC SALES

As a company we made the decision that we should concentrate part of our business strategy and offers on the diplomatic customer segment and prepare special conditions for them. In this way we are demonstrating that we recognize this as an important part of our focus and it shows the need to treat this segment of customers specifically and accordingly.

Star Import has implemented a system to respond to the needs of the diplomatic customer segment and has prepared great offers which have generated lots of interest on this specific market. Star Import is fully prepared to serve the needs of our diplomatic clients

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and are always available to organize introductory meetings where we discuss the benefits, details and personal requests of each customer. All information about diplomatic sales and further details can all be found on our website.

Daimler AG offers in this framework the possibility to invoice the customer for net amount, free of VAT and other tax. In addition, special discounts are available for selected models, depending on eligibility, which is governed by Daimler worldwide policy.

VEHICLES FOR EVERY OCCASION

The company offers this target group of customers a wide range of products within which one can be certain to find the appropriate vehicle for every occasion – would the costumer want the vehicle as a first car, or one for the spouse.

When choosing the vehicle, those who represent their countries will

services. Mr. Vrcelj highlights that: “Our website (www.mercedesbenz.rs) lists the models we offer to diplomats: S-Class, E-Class, C-Class, V-Class and SUVs (GLE and GLS).

It is mainly EClass and C-Class as well a SUV models that we received calls about, while SClass is offered usually as a first car. We place special attention to the highlights that are specific to each model because they can be very important for our individual customers.”

FROM IDEA TO DELIVERY

As for the process for initial call to delivery of the desired vehicle, Mr. Vrcelj explains that “We are talking about new vehicles that are manufactured according to the wishes of the customer. Some people come with definite ideas while others need help which we gladly provide. It is understandable that people are not aware of all of characteristics of our vehicles, what extras are available. So, we

STAR IMPORT HAS IMPLEMENTED A SYSTEM TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CUSTOMER SEGMENT AND HAS PREPARED GREAT OFFERS WHICH HAVE GENERATED LOTS OF INTEREST ON THIS SPECIFIC MARKET seek to make a stable prestigious impression in every situation and our vehicles will help them in this regard. We learn in initial feedback that diplomats are happy to have this opportunity. When talking to potential clients at events, I noticed that the target audience welcomes this opportunity and they are glad to receive special attenattention and being offered tailor-made

go thru all details, client places the orders, transfers down payment, tailored-made vehicle is manufactured and shipped to the client. Not only on our markets, but we have we had requests to ship the car to the home country of given diplomats. Of course in cases like that specific regulation enforced in the country of destination are taken into consideration and the car we

delivered will be with all the necessary technical specifications.”

Regarding the various personal requests: “Their concern is usually with finding the right kind of leather for the seats, the seat comfort package with reclining back seats (where diplomats can relax on longer journeys), the main ambassadorial car which is equipped with flag holders, some people want sun roof, and additional packages such as active parking assistance, DISTRONIC PLUS, PRE SAFE Plus or mirror package. People usually come to us with an idea what they would like to use the car for. For many diplomats appearance is very important in representing their country and appearance certainly includes what car they use. Since we achieved the reliance in customer’s service title, we would like to carry on – and even approve – this standard, I believe the diplomatic segment fully deserves this treatment.” Mr. Vrcelj stated.

Mercedes-Benz offers unique driver assistance systems not available in other brands. Star Import welcomes all the feedback that receives, because it helps to make the system as professional and interesting as possible. As Mr. Vrcelj, Fleet Sales Manager summaries: “I really hope I can contribute to the further strengthening the relations between the embassies, consulates, international organizations, government related institutions, Missions on our markets. We would like to set long term business relations and provide unique services for our customers and interfuse this diplomatic sales in other countries of the region as well as Montenegro and Bosnia and Hercegovina”.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

PEO PLE & EVENT S

08 ASEAN DAY 2017 FLAG AUG

RAISING CEREMONY

In conjunction with the ASEAN Day 2017 and to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a Flag Raising Ceremony was held at the Embassy of Malaysia. The event was co-hosted by Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. In his speech Ambassador of Indonesia H E Harry Richard James Kandou highlighted ASEAN’s achievements and outlined its excellent relations with its dialogue partners including the EU and members of the UN and spoke about further opportunities for cooperation between ASEAN and Serbia.

H.E. Pertti Ikonen, Ambassador of Finland, Žikica Milošević, Editor-in-Chief of Diplomacy&Commerce and Katarina Jonev, journalist

H.E. Myo Aye, Ambassador of Myanmar, H.E. Harry Richard James Kandou, Ambassador of Indonesia and Mr. Nik Ady Arman Bin Nik Mohd Kamil, Ambassy of Malaysia

11 TEAM FINLAND AUG

HAPPY HOUR

The Ambassador of Finland H E Pertti Ikonen organised a summer party at the terrace of the Residence of the Finnish Embassy in Belgrade. The party was entitles Team Finland Happy Hour and it included and BIP beer and Tikveš wine tasting. BIP beer has re-launched its production as a famous and long-awaited brand and the representative of Tikveš came all the way from Macedonia to present splendid wines of Kavadarci region.

14 PAKISTANI AUG

INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION

The Independence Day of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was celebrated in Belgrade. A number of guests from the cultural and political life of Serbia gathered at the Metropol hotel reception. The ceremony was held in memory on March 23, 1940, when Muslims from the south of Asia got together in Lahore, and brought a resolution on the founding of an independent country in which they will be able to regulate their lives in accordance with their own beliefs and aspirations. Seven years later, on August 14, 1947, led by Azem Mohamed Ali Jinnah, they formed the first Islamic republic in the world.

H.E. Syed Adil Gilani, Ambassador of Pakistan with his wife, Nikola Selaković, Secretary General of the President of the Republic of Serbia) and Zoran Đorđević, Minister of Labour, Public Affairs, Veterans Affairs and Social Affairs

H.E. Syed Adil Gilani and H.E.Tanju Bilgiç, Ambassador of Turkey

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

15 INDEPENDENCE

DAY OF INDIA AND “BHARATNATYAM” DANCE SHOW AUG

The Embassy of India marked 70 years of India’s freedom on August 15 with the unfurling of the Indian national flag by Ambassador H.E. Mrs. Narinder Chauhan and the rendering of the Indian national anthem by Serbian school children. On the occasion, Indian Ambassador hosted VIP reception for eminent persons. As a goodwill gesture by the Serbian Government, two iconic buildings, Ada Bridge and Palace of Albania were lit up in the Indian tricolour. The Embassy of India also organised concert of Indian classical dance “Bharatnatyam” in Madlenianum Theatre, Zemun on August 22. The concert and dance show were performed on the occasion of the Indian Independence Day and the end of the British Rajj rule in the Indian subcontinent.

H.E. Alexander Chepurin, Russian ambassador with spouse and H.E. Narinder Chauhan

H.E. Axel Dittmann, Ambassador of Germany with spouse and H.E. Narinder Chauhan, Ambassador of India

H.E. Mohammed K. M. Nabhan, Ambassador Yana Mikhailova, Director of of Palestine and H.E. Narinder Chauhan Nestlé and H.E. Narinder Chauhan

H.E. Denis Keefe, British Ambassador with his wife and H.E. Narinder Chauhan

Igor Mirović, Vojvodinian Prime Minister with H. E. Narinder Chauhan

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www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

26 BALI WONDERLAND AND INDONESIAN AUG

FILM WEEK

The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in cooperation with Jungle Travel Agency held "Bali Wonderland" on the Belgrade Fortress on August 26 during the Kalemegdan Summer Festival at the Military Museum Museum. The Indonesian market was the first part of the event and was designed to present the culture of Indonesia to visitors and give them the opportunity to feel the spirit of this exotic country in the very heart of Belgrade. Indonesian Film Week in Belgrade was held from 28th August to 3rd September in Jugoslovenska Kinoteka, Uzun Mirkova 1, Belgrade. With a cocktail, the Indonesian Film Week was officially opened by the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, H E Mr. Harry. R.J. Kandou, with the presence of members of the delegation from the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia as other guests from the film world of Indonesia.

H.E. Dagmar Repčeková, Ambassador of Slovakia

H.E. Axel Dittmann, Ambassador of Germany and H.E. Andrea Orizio, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia

Ljubiša Diković,Chief of the General Staff of Serbian Armed Forces,Zoran Đorđević, Minister of Labour, Public Affairs, Veterans Affairs and Social Affairs and H.E. Syed Adil Gilani, Ambassador of Pakistan

06 SLOVAKIA SEP

CONSTITUTION DAY

On the occasion of the Constitution Day and the Armed Forces Day the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic Mrs. Dagmar Repčeková & DA Col. Branislav Piliar organised a reception on Wednesday, 6th September in the Embassy of the Slovak Republic. The reception was attended by many illustrous gests.

06 THE THIRD

SLUSH COMPETITION IN BELGRADE SEP

In the third local Slush competition organised by the Embassy of Finland in the Republic of Serbia and the Innovation Fund, Mindy (IT), Sunthetic (green energy) and Urbigo (green technology) entered the narrow circle. The competition, held in Scientific Technology Park "Belgrade", was opened by Nenad Popović, Minister of Innovation and Technological Development, H E Pertti Ikonen, Ambassador of Finland to the Republic of Serbia and Ivan Rakonjac, Director of the Innovation Fund.

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Nenad Popović, Minister of Innovation and Technological Development and H. E. Pertti Ikonen, Ambassador of Finland

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PEO PLE & EVENT S

05 FIC MARKS 15 SEP

YEARS OF WORK

The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) marked last week's ceremony in Belgrade 15 years ago on the Serbian market, while Finance Minister Dušan Vujović said that Serbia, after three years of reform, is today one of the most attractive locations for investments in the Western Balkans and beyond. Vujović said that Serbia is trying to improve the business climate in order to attract as many investors as possible, pointing out that last year, thanks to foreign investments, 16,400 new jobs were opened.

Yana Mikhailova, President of FIC

Ana Firtel, Executive Director of FIC and Yana Mikhailova, President of FIC

Dušan Vujović, Finance Minister

06 TELENOR - 11 YEARS OF SEP

Marija Bašić and Doris Danilović, AHK

Maria Rousseva, President of the Executive Board of Société Générale Bank, Goran Pitić, President of the Managing Board of Société Générale Bank

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Ingeborg Ofsthus, CEO of Telenor Serbia

Pavle Savović,Telegraf, Robert Čoban, CPG, Michel Saint-Lot,UNICEF and Svetlana Tešić,Telenor

SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS IN SERBIA

Telenor has marked the eleventh year of its successful operations and one decade of Telenor Foundation's work in the presence of representatives of state institutions, economic sector and numerous well-known personalities.

Welcoming all present, Ingeborg Øfsthus, CEO of Telenor Serbia, pointed out that Telenor is continuing to contribute to the development of digitalisation in Serbia, in partnership with key participants from the state and economic sectors. This company has built the largest mobile network in the country, which connects over three million customers.

Dejan Turk, CEO of VIP mobile and Ingeborg Ofsthus, CEO of Telenor Serbia

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

C O RPO RATE AHK OKTOBERFEST

2nd AHK Oktoberfest and 3rd Serbian Visions Multi-Conference Again in Belgrade this Autumn As the only bilateral chamber of commerce in Serbia with almost 350 company members, the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) has been continuously working on boosting economic and business relations with Serbia and Germany, and strongly advocating interests of businesses operating in Serbia.

Among numerous events that AHK Serbia organizes for its members, this autumn, we would like to single out the biggest business event in Serbia – the 2nd AHK Oktoberfest – with almost 1,500 guests in attendance. With the goal of promoting the importance of corporate social responsibility, and actively advocating the significance of the civil sector in a country’s development, the Chamber also

organizes the 3rd Serbian Visions Multi-Conference.

2ND AHK OKTOBERFEST – BAVARIAN SPIRIT IN SERBIAN WAY

Every year, the famous Munich festival assembles millions of excited visitors from all the world.

This year, its Serbian counterpart will be held in Belgrade, on 13th and 14th October, organized by the German – Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia), on the premises of the festival’s partner – Messer Tehnogas – which celebrates its 20th annivesary of operations in Serbia. This biggest invitation-only business event will gather around 1,500 guests mainly from the German-Serbian business community, companies that are members of AHK Serbia, and their business partners and guests. The

German Ambassador in Serbia, Mr. Axel Dittmann will officiate the beginning of the AHK Oktoberfest by symbolic opening of the first beer keg, the so-called anzapfen. On its part, AHK Serbia will do everything in its power to create an authentic environment during the festival with a specially decorated tent, rich Bavarian cuisine and German beer in order to fully present the traditional spirit and the original atmosphere of the most famous German festival. The Serbian side will do the same with the brass orchestra of Dejan Petrovic and Big Band which will perform the traditional German, international and Serbian music on the occasion.

SERBIAN VISIONS TO AWARD THE BEST THIS YEAR

The unique project implemented by AHK Serbia – the 3rd Serbian

Visions Multi-Conference – will take place at the premises of the Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel in Belgrade on 25th and 26th November.

The goal of Serbian Visions, the only multi-conference to be organized in Serbia, is to boost the role that civil society plays in the country, and to create a more favourable business environment through contributing to important development segments in the country.

Over 3,000 visitors will be have a free admission to the multi-conference and be able attend some of the 60 two-hour events organized

by NGOs, professional associations, organizations and institutions with the view of presenting the efforts towards creating a better future for the country. This year, Serbian Visions will also award its participants for the best vision and the best social engagement.

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B USINESS NEWS Ahold Delhaize

UniCredit Bank

AMONG THE LEADERS IN SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

THE WINNERS OF THE FIRST UNICREDIT HACKATON UniCredit, in cooperation with ABC Accelerator, launched the first UniCredit Hackathon in CEE, a global competition held in Ljubljana on September 2 and 3, 2017. The programmers, representatives of Fintech Startups and software companies joined forces with UniCredit employees who applied for the initiative and formed 12 international teams.

The participants were from Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey and even Japan. Relying on the new regulation, according to which all financial institutions of the European Union will have to

provide access to data from their clients' accounts, the challenge of Hackathon was: "How to create value using the information about client accounts?" That practically means that the teams had the task to develop, for example, an application or platform for analysing client data in order to provide better customer experience. The winning teams were announced on Sunday, September 3, at the end of an intense two-day competition, and the first prize was 5000 euros each.

Telenor Banka

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH RIVER STYXX CAPITAL

Telenor Banka has reached an agreement with River Styxx Capital on a strategic partnership. Under the agreement, River Styxx Capital will acquire 85% of shares in Telenor Banka, while Telenor maintains 15% ownership. “The strategic partnership with River Styxx Capital is the next step on the bank’s

growth curve. It will bring us new opportunities to expand Telenor Banka’s business and create additional benefits to our customers and the whole market,” says Ingeborg Øfsthus, CEO of Telenor Serbia and Chair of the Telenor Banka Board of Directors. By investing into this partnership, River Styxx Capital enters the Serbian market and shares the vision of providing accessible and convenient financial services in the whole region of South East Europe. “Strategic partnership with River Styxx Capital will support funding and further growth of our business.” says Miloš Brusin, President of the Executive Board of Telenor Banka.

Ahold Delhaize was among the leaders of sustainable retail business, according to the Dow Jones World Sustainability Index for 2017. Ahold Delhaize received a total score of 73 out of 100, far above the average of 45 in the retail industry. The Dow Jones Index is a key indicator to investors how much investments are invested in sustainable development. "It's a great honour for us to be recognised as the retail leader of the World Sustainability Index. Sustainable business is an integral part of our strategy "Together we are better," said Dick Boer, general manager of Ahold Delhaize. "Through the operations of our local brands, which have 21 in 11 countries, we will continue to fulfill our promise to be a better place to shop, a better place to work and a better neighbour.

By promoting healthy nutrition, reducing the amount of food that is thrown away and creating a healthy and inclusive place to work, we can best influence the lives of our customers, colleagues and communities." For more information on Ahold Delhaize and its priority areas of sustainable business, visit: www.aholddelhaize.com/en/sustainable-retailing.

Nelt

STATUS OF AUTHORISED ECONOMIC OPERATOR AWARDED TO NELT

Sony

SMART OFFICE SOLUTION

Sony’s Seed Acceleration Program (SAP) sees the launch of its first business in Europe-Nimway. Nimway provides digital tools that support the new, more flexible way of working, meeting the challenges that may arise in transition towards activity based workplaces and making larger spaces more intuitive. It also provides invaluable insights to management how the office is actually being used.

The Nimway solution uses mobile applications for Android and iPhone in combination with digital floorplans placed at strategic hotspots in the buildings. Nimway is based on Sony’s world class indoor positioning technology powered by Bluetooth beacons and wireless occupancy sensors.

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Sony Mobile has developed a comprehensive digital solution, designed for modern ways of working to enable spontaneous meetings, dynamic collaborations and save valuable working time. Sony rolled out the Nimway solution in European countries on 31st of August.

The Customs Administration – Customs Offices of Belgrade issued a decision where the company Nelt is awarded the globally recognised certificate AEO for customs simplification/security and safety (AEO F). That way Nelt is recognised as a reliable partner, since, following a studious checking, it was determined that Nelt fulfils all the specific criteria of the World Customs Organisation standards and equivalent local standards in the area of supply chain safety.

“We are glad that the Customs Administration recognised and certified Nelt’s business excellence we are focusing on daily. At Nelt we invest energy every day in raising standards in order to ensure Nelt’s position of a reliable partner both in local and global markets”, says Ivan Milicevic, LSP operations and development manager.

Some of the main benefits, which this system brings, are, above all, reflected in partner cooperation with the Customs Administration. Those benefits lead to simpler approval process and simplified customs proceedings, reduced number of controls and data entry, priority informing, etc.

By obtaining this certificate, Nelt will provide its clients with quicker and cheaper transport of goods, thereby raising the level of its services and additionally improving the existing range of integrated logistics services.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

Univerexport

NEW MODEL OF BUSINESS ON THE DOMESTIC MARKET Univerexport, with the opening of the first partner facility in Banatsko Novo Selo, started implementing a changed and completely new business model. The first Univerexport partner operates within Univerexport, in this model, and in accordance with applicable legal regulations, called Univerexport partner. The concept of partnership with Univerexport is a new approach to the market, where our partner manages independently its own facility according to Univerexport standards and already defined assortment which is adapted to the corresponding surface and facility classification. Aside from being marketed under the brand name Univerexport, the partner shop gets more visibility and recognition, as well as know how – i.e. knowledge and experience.

On the other hand, by the words of Boris Čolić, the manager of the franchise, Univerexport, by entering into a partner relationship empowers smaller formats with which it gets access to the market and consumers in a more direct, more intimate, neighbourly way.

Direct Media

VOLUNTEERS DONATED A NEW OUTFIT TO THE AMPHITHEATRE IN CHILDREN'S VILLAGE The amphitheater in the open part of the complex of the social care institution "Dr Milorad Pavlovic" in Sremska Kamenica, was reconstructed with the help of employees in the Direct Media system. The old concrete amphitheater needed renewal in the form of removal of worn-out layer and new concrete. After the concrete was replaced, the employees of Direct Media system painted the amphitheater in the colours of the rainbow which are usually mentioned in the Children's Village anthem. On the same day, the exhibition of the exhibition in the virtual reality "The Experience of Tesla", which Direct Media donated to the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, also organized for children.

"The space was given a new dimension, and the children had the opportunity to socialize with volunteers, to see the presentation of Nikola Tesla via VR, as well as to play with the animators. All this has been made possible by Direct Media, and we are therefore extremely grateful to them for that" said Mirko Jankelić, Acting Director of "Dr Milorad Pavlović" in Sremska Kamenica. The action of the arrangement of the amphitheater lasted for 8 hours, and during this time it was painted about 400 square meters of amphitheater, which was previously renovated by Direct Media volunteers.

Carlsberg Group

170h of Different Programme Marking 170 Years

This year, the Carlsberg Group celebrates 170 years of existence, and this is an original campaign of as many as 170 hours of the most diverse programme. The celebration of a significant jubilee of companies began with a series of short films shot from the drones to record the most significant landmarks of Copenhagen. For 170 hours, people around the world had the opportunity to see and feel the impact Carlsberg has in the world of brewing, as well as in the city of Copenhagen itself. All this will come to life through various exhibitions, special tastings, organized tours, to end up with probably the best party on August 26th.

An exhibition titled "The streets around the world" was opened in which there is a Carlsberg edition of the famous photo of the old Carlsberg brewery, which was not in use for more than a decade, but is now open specially on this occasion. Carlsberg Foundation organized a big event in the Concert Hall of Danish Radio, called The Art of light, which the world-famous artist Olafur Eliasson and distinguished professor at Harvard, Professor

Lene Hau talked about science, art and light.

The most important event of the was held on Saturday 26 August, when the Carlsberg Group initiated probably the best street party in the world, for all interested visitors at the Old Carlsberg's way in Copenhagen.

On the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the Carlsberg Group, it is possible to “fly” on the website through the Carlsberg world, as well as around it. Two drones will take you through the old Carlsberg brewery, familiarize you with our horses in Valby, as well as a beautiful collection of works of art, which is located in New Carlsberg Glyptotek, with the statue of The Little Mermaid at Langelinie in, donated by Jacobsen, until Frederiksborg castle, whose reconstruction was financed

by Jakobsen. In this unique trip, the user can control the speed of the drone itself. And in the end, especially on the occasion of important anniversaries is made unique graphic universe is made of cans, bottles and POS materials and to a wide range of digital solutions across social and other digital platforms, the most Carlsberg markets worldwide.

Intesa Sanpaolo

ACQUIRES THE MORVAL VONWILLER GROUP Intesa Sanpaolo and the shareholders of Morval Vonwiller Holding SA (the "Group") have reached an agreement for the sale and purchase of the Group, including Banque Morval SA. The agreement is in line with Intesa Sanpaolo's strategic plan to strengthen its presence on international markets in the field of private banking. The Group's presence in Geneva will permit Intesa Sanpaolo's Private Banking Division, currently present in Lugano, London and Luxembourg, to further expand its geographic footprint.

Members of the Zanon di Valgiurata family (which founded the Group) currently involved

in the Group's management will remain minority shareholders and continue to be involved in managing the Group's affairs. The transaction is subject to obtaining all necessary regulatory authorisations.

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B USINESS NEWS NLB Group

PROFIT OF THE 70% GREATER In the first six months of this year, NLB Group made a profit of €117.9m, which is €48.4m, or 70% more than in the same period last year. Good results of the NLB Group were also contributed by all affiliate offices outside Slovenia, with a total profit of €58.8m, which is 71% more compared to the same period last year. NLB Bank Belgrade in this period recorded a profit after tax of €4.6m. "NLB Bank Belgrade supported the citizens and the economy of Serbia in the realization of personal and business plans with loans in the amount of EUR 108.5 million in the first six months of this year" said Branko Greganović, President of the Executive Board of NLB Bank Belgrade. He particularly referred to the growth of 50% in lending to the economy, as well as on cooperation with the agro segment. NLB Bank approved loans to farmers in the amount of €22m last year and ranks among three banks with the largest number of subsidized loans granted. "This year, only in the first six months, farmers supported more than €17m" Greganović said.

Societe Generale

PREMIERE – NEW DEBIT CARDS Societe General bank offers its current and future clients enhanced set of products and services which include three new Debit Mastercard contactless cards – standard, Gold and Platinum. New contactless payment cards – Debit Mastercard, Debit Mastercard Gold and Debit Mastercard Platinum enable ATM cash withdrawal and payment of goods and services both in the country and abroad, as well as on the internet, in a fast, simple and secure way with numerous benefits such as discounts within SoGe world programme, individual and family travel insurance for Platinum cardholders, as well as discounts within Mastercard Premium programme in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina for Gold and

Platinum cardholders. The introduction of these three new cards is also a premiere of Mastercard contactless technology in Societe Generale bank. Mastercard contactless payments are made in a fast and secure way by tapping the card against the contactless reader. For the amounts up to RSD 1,500 it is not necessary to enter PIN code.

Delta Real Estate

DELTA PLANET IN VARNA AS WELL

Naled

THE PRIME MINISTER IS OPEN ABOUT ECONOMIC REFORMS AND MUNICIPALITIES Combating the grey economy, reducing bureaucracy and corruption through the introduction of e-government, more efficient cadastre, reforms in the agricultural sector and strengthening the IT sector are some of the key priorities on which the Serbian government will cooperate with NALED in the upcoming period – that is said during working meeting of members and the partner of NALED with Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, attended by nearly 200 domestic and foreign businessmen, mayors, representatives of the international community and diplomatic corps. The Serbian government wants to foster a permanent and open dialogue with the economy in order to find the best solutions for long-term and dynamic economic growth. In this process, cooperation with civil society and associations such as NALED, whose contribution is particularly valued, is also crucial, because it is able to bring together and calm the interests of the private, public and civil sector at the same table as it was today - said the Prime Minister. As announced, in the next month, the Government of Serbia will establish a Coordination Council for e-Government, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Brnabić, in whose work, apart from line ministries, representatives of the economy and the professional public will be involved.

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Delta Real Estate, Delta Holding member company, in cooperation with Bulgarian company AP investments, has finalized its acquisition of the shopping-mall in Varna, on the Black Sea coast. Varna is the second biggest city in Bulgaria and an important tourist center. “Delta Real Estate continues to strategically expand its business.

It is with great pleasure that I announce

opening of another construction site in an EU country, in Bulgaria.” – said Zorana Ždrale Burlić, CEO, Delta Real Estate. This project called Delta Planet and worth 120 million Euros, will be developed together with partner AP investments from Sofia led by two well renown Bulgarian entrepreneurs Angel Angelov and Peter Dudolenski, which have wide range of investments trough real estate developments, healthcare, trade and retail. The performance of final works on the property with the area of 110.000 m2 will start these days while its opening is planned for May 2018. The works will be performed by Bulgarian contractor Planex.

Telekom Srbija

TELEKOM SRBIJA EQUIPS IT CABINETS IN 20 SCHOOLS IN SERBIA

Telekom Srbija started the realisation of the project "We create knowledge", which is being carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, by providing computer and related equipment for the computer room in Elementary School "Karas Karolina". Elementary school in Horgos is one of 20 schools awarded with the donation of Telekom Srbija, marking the company's twenty years of existence. Information equipment in Karas Karolina Elementary School was presented by the General Manager of Telekom Srbija Predrag Ćulibrk and Minister of Education, Science and

Technological Development Mladen Šarčević.

School "Karas Karolina" is one of 20 schools that citizens selected during the internet voting in which 40 primary schools were proposed by the Ministry of Education. In addition to the Karas Karolina elementary school, Telekom Srbija has donated funds for equipping IT cabinets and other schools.

www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs

CO RPO RATE ADA MALL

To be a Destination, Not Only a Shopping Center Ada Mall will not be an ordinary shopping center - big box without windows

It will be a genuine green oasis, in accordance with the environment, particularly with Ada Lake. Shape of the mall is derived from the shape of the lake, it follows the configuration of the terrain and will have a lot of verdure.

With a unique shopping experience, Ada Mall will offer brands that have not been seen in Serbia yet, while those brands already present in Serbia, will be introduced in a new way. It will have 5 floors along with 3 levels of underground parking with about 1000 parking bays

connected into one unit. Boutiques will be placed on the first three floors, while other two will feature bars, restaurants and additional multi-purpose facilities.

Milano…), as well as few “fine dining” restaurants. Ada Mall will also have the largest green area comparing to other shopping centers in Serbia. The main goal is for Ada

WITH A UNIQUE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE, ADA MALL WILL OFFER BRANDS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN IN SERBIA YET We will have so-called “artisans” stands, like Mercato Centralle in Firenca, Mercado San Migel in Madrid or Eataly (NY,

Mall to become a destination, not just a shopping center. Ada Mall is designed according to LEED Gold / Platinium standards and will be

implemented in accordance with it. We will also use the latest materials and equipment that are in compliance with all domestic and international standards. "We hope that our visitors will recognize this and see the difference when we open Ada Mall. All the work on the construction started in March, after the demolition and remediation of the terrain. In order to comply with the deadline, first customers in Ada Mall, investment worth over 100 million euros, could be expected in Q4 of 2018", said Jelena Vučković, leasing manager.

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U N LO VA BL E ?

A New Biopic of Morrissey, Britain’s Controversial Music Icon “England is Mine” does well to focus on his formative years rather than his later antagonisms

In “England is Mine”, a new biopic of Morrissey, Mark Gill fashions an odd portrait of the artist as a young misery guts. The film hones in on the singer’s formative years in Stretford, a town in Manchester, and as such features none of The Smiths’ music (Johnny Marr, the guitarist critical to the band’s sound, appears only briefly). It is a curiously low-key affair, shorn of the air-punching moments that constitute most music biopics’ bread and butter.

For indie music lovers, The Smiths were the only band that mattered for much of the 1980s— and Morrissey was their gladioli-twirling talisman. Drawing on disparate influences from David Bowie to the Sex Pistols to playwright Joe Orton, the avowedly celibate singer was a fascinating paradox. He was an NHS-specs wearing introvert and an incorrigible show-off.

He was a writer of considerable wit and subtlety whose public pronouncements tended towards the bombastic.

As such, Mr Gill’s film might feel hopelessly modest for a man who once memorably deigned to forgive Jesus. Yet that is where “England is Mine” succeeds: it recuperates the self-regarding yet vulnerable young artist from the 58-yearold contrarian. Morrissey, for his part, has never made any secret about his prickly nature (he even wrote a song about it, “Unlovable”). Listen back to the Smiths’ catalogue, and it soon transpires that many of his more vexing themes were in place early in his career: the self-martyrdom, petty parochialism and need to foster enemies. (In the film, he is asked if he has much filing experience: he replies that he “keep[s] a list of all the people I dislike”.) But these traits are offset by the celebratory nature of the music, and a sense of exuberant youth rubbing against the singer’s fogeyish sensibilities.

It is a fortuitous bit of timing. Morrissey’s legacy is sinking at the exact moment in his career when he should be embraced as a national treasure. While his early public pronouncements tended to chime with the feelings of his typically left-leaning fan base—think of his tirades against the Queen and Margaret Thatcher—the new-look Pope of Mope saves his edicts for Brexit (“magnificent”), Nigel Farage (“I like him a great deal”) and terrorism (politicians are afraid to call out Islam). Such divisive subjects inevitably jar with many of his fans.

Mr Gill wisely sidesteps all of that by making his film an “origin story”: in turning his lens

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on the teenage Morrissey, he’s able to give us something of the man behind the mask. “I became very interested in the idea that it was Steven who wrote those early Smiths records, as opposed to Morrissey the persona. It’s about how Steven uses this mask of the Morrissey persona to survive, how he builds this suit of armour with which to take on the world.”

MR GILL’S FILM MIGHT FEEL HOPELESSLY MODEST FOR A MAN WHO ONCE MEMORABLY DEIGNED TO FORGIVE JESUS Certainly, the Morrissey of “England is Mine” more closely resembles the ambiguous character of “Hatful of Hollow” than the more preachy (“Meat Is Murder”) and self-reflexive (“The Queen Is Dead”) iterations that would follow.

This is the precocious creature that spoke to the contradictory impulses of teens perhaps better than anyone in pop: invincible one minute, forlorn the next. “Hand in Glove”, the band’s first single, famously opens with Morrissey’s proclamation that “the sun shines out of our behinds,” and ends with a sulky shrug: “I’ll probably never see you again.”

Delicately played by Jack Lowden (who also starred in “Dunkirk”), Mr Gill’s Morrissey is at

least as fired by narcissism and petty jealousy in his endeavours as he is by anything noble. In one scene, he throws a hissy fit when a poster of Oscar Wilde on his wall seems to mock him.

In another, puffed up by the triumph of his first gig, he taunts his sister about her dead-end supermarket job. His sweeter moments generally come with the women in his life, from beloved mum Betty, of a similarly bookish bent, to his friend Linder Sterling, who spies his promise from early on.

But the film also seeks to transcend the musician himself. It opens in 1976, with Morrissey just barely 17 and Britain a recent recruit to the European Union: it is both a world of established ties and flux. The title is lifted from a lyric from “Still Ill”: “England is mine; it owes me a living.” “The story is very much of that period where Britain had just emerged out of isolation into Europe, and now we’ve turned our back on all of that,” says Mr Gill, who hopes that his film will encourage younger viewers to have the confidence to go out and shape their own destinies. “To be a young person now you must be looking around thinking, ‘What’s going to happen?’ And the only thing that can happen is you’ve got to be a little bit defiant and grab the opportunity while you can.”

Brexit, of course, is a favourite subject of Morrissey’s—perhaps no surprise from a man whose primary sympathies have always lain with the white working class (to say nothing of his playing with nationalist imagery in the late 1980s and early 1990s). While Mr Gill admits to being turned off by some of the singer’s recent comments, he maintains that none of this will matter in the fullness of time. “Whether you agree with him or not—and I don’t agree with a lot of what he says—what I’m fascinated by is the risks he’s taken with his career,” he offers.

“No one will write about all the controversy once he’s gone, because we’ll realise that we’ll never ever see anybody like that again.”

There’s time yet for a fuller-throated appreciation of the musician and his talents.

But “England is Mine” does something else: it makes Morrissey seem human again. He emerges not as a mythical star, but as both a product of his environment as well as a man apart from it. It is a start.

From The Economist, published under licence.

The original article, in English, can be found on www.economist.com

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Always Crossing the Line Beyond the acceptable and accepted

thing that we are very proud of. As you have mentioned, his work is recognized in the German speaking area, and BITEF will be his first world promotion. I don’t know if I would call his plays Kafkaesque, but they are rather cynical, brazen, and provocative, while, at the same time, strange, joyful and full of life.

IVAN MEDENICA Art Director of BITEF

BITEF has always been something that steps beyond, over the line, moving the borders of usual in the world of theatre. This avant-guard approach was always BITEF's trademark, and if you thought this year „everything is already seen“ you will be profoundly suprised: BITEF has prepared even more surprises. We have talked with Ivan Medenica, Artc Director of BITEF about this year's festival.

BITEF always pushes the envelope in terms of what is acceptable and accepted. What are you planning for the 51st BITEF?

— As you can sense from the slogan of the 51st BITEF – Epic Trip – we are expecting something epic, big and magnificent, as well as trippy. But, joking aside, this slogan refers to all of the main aesthetic and thematic features of the main programme. Some plays have all these features, some just few of them. The term „epic“ primarily refers to the epic material, or broadly speaking, the mythical material that is interwoven into quite a few plays. For instance, Jan Fabre's Mount Olympus is based on the entire ancient Greek mythology. Then there is the play called The Bible, which is a first attempt by Jernej Lorenci to create a play based on Biblical texts. Another of Lorenci's plays is called The Kingdom of Heaven, and it is based on the Serbian medieval epic literature. The reason why we chose these plays is that, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the history did not come to an end in a sense of people living in a conflict-free society of liberal democracy. On the contrary, we are intensely living through history all over the world with numerous wars, the refugee catastrophe, the rampage of right-wing movements and neoliberal capitalism, the disintegration of parlimentary democracy, global terrorism.... Under such circumstances, we need to go back to formative narratives of our

If we are to believe various announcements, “The Extermination of Olga Bach” is a trash-camp version of Trainspotting, painted in LSD colours.

How much are we going to be shocked or shaken by this play?

AS YOU CAN SENSE FROM THE SLOGAN OF THE 51ST BITEF – EPIC TRIP – WE ARE EXPECTING SOMETHING EPIC, BIG AND MAGNIFICENT, AS WELL AS TRIPPY civilization in order to try to realize where did we fail it. Continuance is also epic because the aesthetic focus this year is on long plays.

Last but not least, epic also refers to the dominance of story-telling in relation to dramatic stimulation in most plays. As far as the term trip goes, it refers to the journeying back to the past civilizations, as well as to a special physical and psychological state; the haze that is caused by duration of something.

In terms of „moving boundaries“ that you asked me about, I think that, this year, it relates to lasting.

I do hope that showing naked

bodies on the stage is the thing of the 1970s, and that, in this day and age, naked body is not considered pushing the envelope.

Ersan Mondtag is probably the leading rising star of the German theatre who will present himself in front of the Belgrade audience with two plays. What are these plays going to be like considering Mondtag’s Kafkaesque inclinations?

— Ersan Mondtag is a young German director of Turkish origin, and is the biggest international “discovery” of the 51st BITEF, some-

TO MAKE A SHORT STORY LONG This year, there will be several extremely long plays at the BITEF, lasting 3.5, 6 or even 24 hours. Do you think that the audiences will be able to understand them and stick it out until the end?

— I think that there is nothing special to understand here, but they definitely will need to stick it out until the end. Very long plays, the so-called durational performances, axiomatically break down the classical scenic illusion, and take us to the very limits of the performance, because physical exhaustion works on performers too, so the audience does notice their private and occasionally very tired bodies behind the fiction they are conjuring up. Of course, the fatigue does affect the audience too, and it lowers their concentration, but, at the same time, and this is something that it is the most important, it relieves them of all constraints of modern day living, and its barbaric speed, hysteria and superficiality. In such theatre, the experience that you live through is its main effect and this is, dare I say it, the experience of freedom.

Plays like this have a similar effect as Woodstock or a rave party.

— It will shock you with its stage poetics which you have excellently described in a couple of lines contained within your question. This is something that is the typical Mondtag. On the other hand, the Olga Bach play is the only drama at the BITEF, and I think it is going to shake us with its rendition of the impotence of today’s society, the inability to push ourselves and the world forward, to make things better individually and collectively, and to be happier. BITEF starts with an explosion of the cosmic force of Eros in Mount Olympus, and ends in the aforementioned contemporary impotence.

We haven’t had many opportunities to see the Iranian theatre.

What will Amir Reza Koohestani bring with his play?

— Although young, Koohestani is currently the biggest name in the Iranian theatre in the international framework. His play is different from most other plays at the 51st BITEF because its story-telling format reminds us of another civilization narrative – the stories from “One Thousand and One Nights” – which fully corresponds to the term epic. On the other hand, there is nothing trippy about it, because we are talking about a subdued and totally minimalistic play. This formal strictness is in full balance with the strong emotion carried by the story that talks about the position of women in the contemporary Iranian society. I have a feeling, a completely justified one, I believe, that many people will find this play their favourite at the 51st BITEF.

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Art Needs Company

A sustained alliance of audience, artists, and patrons

JOVANKA VIŠEKRUNA JANKOVIĆ ArtLink

It's not that people don't like classical music. It's that they don't have the chance to understand and to experience it. (Gustavo Dudamel). The audience is best approached nowadays by festivals and not single events, and Jovanka Višekruna Janković, pianist, founder and artistic director of ArtLink, Member of the Board of the European Festival Association speaks about the ArtLink Yong Talent’s Festival, which begins in September, and promotes young artists through this form of exposure.

The 2017 edition of the ArtLink Yong Talent’s Festival begins on 25 September. What is the concept and programme of the Festival?

— I am happy that at the upcoming Festival, ArtLink will be able to share with our audience the art of truly excellent artists – Serbia’s internationally famed violinist Stefan Milenković, opening the Festival on 25 September together with the ArtLink Young Virtuosi, then the French-Russian violinist Fedor Rudin, the outstanding young Serbian pianist Pavle Krstić, and the

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internationally most demanded Hungarian cellist Istvan Vardai, who will close the Festival on 8 October. Mr. Vardai’s concert will also mark Hungary’s presidency of the Visegrád Group - which was in focus during our last festival. We will

Serbia and the region. Our program for young talents exists since ArtLink’s founding in 2004. The first youth program in 2004 – the so-called NORBAL – Nordic-Balkan Chamber Orchestra, composed of young artists from both regions, had a European character. It set off a number of successful activities: master-classes and workshops, a year-round Young Talents’ Cycle for which participants are selected through auditions, and who then perform together with their mentors, and ArtLink’s Annual Award for the Most Promising Music Artist in Serbia. This year we are running the Young Talents’ Music Cycle together with the EU Delegation in Serbia, in Belgrade and other cities throughout the country, where young artists learn and perform with their mentors from different EU Member States.

IN A DECADE THAT IS NOT PARTICULARLY KIND TO ART AND CULTURE, ARTLINK FESTIVAL’S MISSION IS TO ATTRACT THE PUBLIC ATTENTION TO THE IMPORTANCE OF PROMOTING YOUNG ARTISTS THROUGH FESTIVALS also have a Jazz Evening, and Wine and Music parties in cooperation with our partners and donors, for whose support I would like to express my heart-felt gratitude.

Besides the Festival, ArtLink is successfully developing a programme for young talents?

— ArtLink Young Talents’ Cycle has also become a very notable program for young, talented musicians from

ArtLink is not only the Festival, but an organisation that covers a number of important projects on a broader level. ArtLink is also a partner of the European Festival Association, and a hub for the Western Balkans within the European project “Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe” EFFE. What news in that area?

— The Second Festival Summit organised by the European Festival

Association, will be held in September, in Brussels, and will gather over two hundred festival directors from different areas. At the Summit, Festival Awards will be presented to those European festivals that, according to the international jury, merit them. This will be an excellent opportunity for festivals from Western Balkans to exchange opinions with European partners, build contacts, as well as to hear success stories by experts on the topic of financing festivals.

How do you secure support for your programmes and what is the situation on that topic in Europe?

— ArtLink does not only link artists, but also partners and associates from other sectors, business in particular. Art and business have always been compatible. Throughout centuries art had its patrons, who remain equally important today.

ArtLink is dedicated to the development of contemporary patronage of arts, but is simultaneously studying new trends and, in line with them, strives to introduce art, in some manner, into business flows.

That which is particular to art, and which can help develop the artistic scene and profession, is the creativity that art can offer in communication and through cooperation with other areas – not only business. That creativity should also be utilised when important social issues, on a global level, are at stake. I think that artists do have a thing to say and to offer in an era of complete materialisation – art and artist can offer fresh ideas.

MISSION AND VISION In a decade that is not particularly kind to art and culture, ArtLink Festival’s mission is to attract the public attention to the importance of promoting young artists through festivals. The Festival establishes young talents as recognised artists, builds their confidence, professional curriculum, national and international recognition, contacts with other artists, talent seekers and partner festivals. We are, thus, contributing to the attainment of future meaningful employment for the young artists.

ArtLink is building up an engaged and sustained alliance of audience, artists, and patrons, and creating a new, powerful creativity and production lever. I firmly believe that classical music is as relevant and necessary today as ever.

I would like young artists from Serbia to be heard and watched in the best musical environment, so that the world can discover and enjoy their talents – because true talent deserves recognition and support.

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The Franz Liszt Festival

The first festival of young talent in classical music The first ever Franz Liszt Festival of young talent in classical music will take place at the Ecka Fortress, on 6th October, under the auspices of the Government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvoidna, the Town of Zrenjanin, and the Generali Insurance Company. Color Media Communications and the Association of Businesswomen 'Sofia' are the festival's organizers.

A nobleman Lukač Lazar bought the derelict Ečka Fotress at an auction in 1781, and in its location, built a church and houses for his servants. In the early 19th century, his son, Agošton Lazar built the Ečka Castle and is the person who should be credited with its opening in 1820.

The famous composer, Franz Liszt, who was only nine years old at the time, performed at the castle’s opening. The infamous Count Esterhazy, the wealthiest and the most reputable aristocrat in Hungary, also attended the opening.

The first ever Franz Liszt Festival will be held in celebration of the 200th anniversary of this event with the young, talented classical musicians (vocalists and instrumentalists) performing at the Ečka Fortress.

“Although there were no social media or the Internet at that time, Liszt was a real European artist, adored by a multitude of music lovers. He had a very developed career at that time and has performed here too which was great because he put this place on the cultural map that we are today

continuing to promote, in addition to trying to position Serbian festivals on the European cultural map. I do hope that, in the following couple of years, the Franz Liszt Festival will become a part of the European festival network called Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe”, says pianist and the festival’s selector, Jovanka Višekruna Janković. She adds that the festival’s programme will showcase Liszt’s most important work, performed by young pianists.

CEO of the Color Media Communications Company, Robert Čoban

the first ever Franz Liszt Festival will take place on 6th October. It is important that we, as a media company, along with the Town of Zrenjanin, the Vojvodinian government, the Generali Insurance Company, and the Sofia Assosciation, send out a message that we consider children and young people the most important, and

THE FAMOUS COMPOSER, FRANZ LISZT, WHO WAS ONLY NINE YEARS OLD AT THE TIME, PERFORMED AT THE EČKA CASTLE’S OPENING WHICH IS WHY THE FESTIVAL IS NAMED AFTER HIM underlines that the festival has managed to identify a very good idea, and that he has accepted the challenge of his company participating in festival organization.

“All the pieces of the puzzle have finally fallen into place, and

that we are going to promote them at this time of crisis, digitalization, young people’s obsession with mobile phones and their lack of interest in things that carry a greater social value and quality. The time has come for us to make things

Kaštel ”Ečka”, Zrenjanin

metropolitan again. There are over 100 different events in Belgrade every day, and people there don’t have enough time to read all the invitations they get, let alone attend events, while the rest of Serbia is dying to have cultural events of this quality”, Robert Čoban adds.

Marijana Kerleta from the Association of Businesswomen, Sofia, says that the idea (to hold such festival) is great, and that it creates opportunities for further development of culture and tourism in our region.

“The Town of Zrenjanin is also going to support this festival, while promoting the ties that the famous composer Franz Liszt had with the Ečka Fortress and our town. This is a strong argument in favour of including Zrenjanin in the regional cultural map”, says an assistant to Zrenjanin mayor, Simo Salapura.

The Festival is not a competition of any sorts, and all soloists, choruses and orchestras from Serbia and the region can participate in it.

The potential participants can apply by sending a mail to franzlisztfest@color.rs and submit the information about the performer (or performers), the name of the piece they want to perform, and their phone number.

For more information about the festival, please go to www.color.rs/ franzlisztfest.

ELISA TOMELLINI Italian pianist, Elisa Tomellini will be the festival’s special guest. Elisa was a piano wunderkind, commended by many prominent musicians. She won several international competitions, and has always been an atypical musician, going against dogmas and academic context. Elisa is an exceptional artist who is constantly trying to modernize her approach to music, taking it to very unconventional places and locations whenever possible. Sometimes, she performs in nature, in front of strikingly beautiful natural attractions, far from concert halls and stages.

The renowned British daily, The Guardian described Elisa Tomellini as one of the brightest young piano talents of her generation. Elisa was born in Genoa where she started playing piano at the age of five, under the guidance of Lidia Baldecchi Arcuri. The eminent magazine Piano Time has described Elisa as “a prominent pianist in Italy”. Her repertoire is wide and ranges from the romantic to Russian recitals to new genres like Tango Nuevo, and Astor Piazzolla’s pieces in her own arrangement.

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TRAVELO GU E Text: ŽIKICA MILOŠEVIĆ

Georgia and Armenia The Top of the Old World There aren’t many older cultures and countries in Europe, and at the same time little-known and marginalised, as Georgia and Armenia. The first two nations to collectively accept Christianity, these two gems of the Caucasus Mountains are first-rate tourist attractions, offering a mixture of the old and the brand new, Soviet and imperial Russian, postUSSR and mediaeval. A unique blend of churches, mountains, caves, lakes, seashores and cities will remind you of the former Yugoslavia, but with a specific touch.

KUTAISI The shadows of the Empire

When I wrote the headline I was referring to the idea that when Noah and his family survived the complete destruction of the world by the deluge they landed on Mount Ararat, which is just south of the Caucasus. And this, means that in the Middle East they probably thought nothing was higher than Caucasus. And when you come to Georgia nowadays you usually land at the small airport of Kutaisi, the old capital of Imeretia. Few people would have considered this sleepy city prior to the introduction of Wizzair’s route from Budapest.

Jason and the Argonauts found the

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Golden Fleece here, and so will we.

Kutaisi resembles a remnant of an old empire, and the common impression is that it is like Ceylon: Kutaisi was in the Russian Empire, while Ceylon was in the British Empire. The traces of former glory are still quite visible, though many of the facilities, despite their splendour, are in a state of disrepair, covered by damp. Moisture is ubiquitous in this region, locked between the mountains and the sea. Everything is lush and green, and the rain comes out of nowhere.

Whenever I notice an overly green

landscape I know that I have to be suspicious of the weather, and to bring one obligatory item: an umbrella. So Kutaisi did not disappoint me. The state of the River Rioni provided a sign that the summer was dry and hot. The laidback attitude of the population is also something to be enjoyed. The street beer and kvas taps were a great solution to deal with the exhausting heat. My friend Radomir tried to order by saying “Three beers” in English, but to no avail. I said “Tri piva” in Serbian (it is the same in Russian), and we got our beers. The

AS PETER HANDKE SAID, IN EX-SOCIALIST COUNTRIES I FEEL LIKE IT IS ALL REAL AND NOT STAGED. TBILISI IS REAL … STILL

man asked us where we’re from in Russian. Serbia. Friends, Orthodox brothers! The rest of the conversation was: Radomir in Serbian, our interlocutors in Russian, all of them understanding each other perfectly.

Georgia, a country where you can speak Serbian and be understood.

The Rioni flows lazily; Bagrationi Church looks down at you from the top of the hill, and the buildings by the river look a lot like Mostar, only Christian. I can't wait for the moment when all of them will be restored, like in the town centre, which now looks like it did in 1888.

Restaurants are also mushrooming and the food is delicious, even street food delicacies like khachapuri, lobani, churchkhela - names that are far harder to pronounce for someone coming from the West.

Thank God that the Slavic languages all have these same consonant clusters. Goodbye, Kutaisi, our gate to the Caucasus, let's swim in Adjaria.

BATUMI Imperial Russia, Las Vegas and Dubai, married

Okay, so nowadays they like to call it Adjara, but that won't apply to the old-fashioned-me. I always dreamt about summertime in Adjaria. Perhaps my fascination with Eastern Europe is connected to the fact that I leaned Russian for

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nine years from the ages of 10 to 19, so I know a lot about the former USSR. And the Black Sea is one of my favourites, since it is “not too hot”, “the water is not too salty”, and the “beaches are long”. These two latter facts are true, but the first is not: Batumi is tropical! Very hot and humid. They all say that Mikhail Saakashvili invested in Adjara and reformed it, transforming it into a kind of mixture between Las Vegas, Dubai and a Russian imperial town. The Alphabet Tower, the Sheraton Hotel imitating the Alexandria Lighthouse, a ferris wheel and Ali and Nino (Nino is female, known as “Nina” here), a kinetic statue where a boy and a girl approach one another, unite, pass through each other and move apart in repetitive circles, really a breath-taking idea. Ali was Azeri and Nino was a Georgian, in the period after WWI in Baku. They loved each other and there is even a film dedicated to their love. The reconstruction of the Old Town and construction of high rise buildings (a Merriott is under construction and a Trump Tower is planned!) lead to an increased number of tourists from Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey (gambling is permitted), Iran and Arabic countries.

Funnily enough, here you have Thai massage parlours, strip clubs, Soviet mini markets and halal restaurants standing side by side – like in good-old-multicultural places like Hong Kong. Since we now have omnipresent WiFi and mobile phone cameras, I managed to capture quite a lot of pictures and share them with friends, who were astonished that Georgia can teach all other countries how to redevelop things. Inside the Old Town there are new buildings built in a pseudo-old style, so they fit the ambient perfectly – unlike in Serbia. The Maritime Promenade is many miles long, and everything is impeccable. The beaches are never crowded and are made of pebbles as opposed to sand. Relax and chill.

TBILISI The Easternmost Prague, the mountainous Odessa

When we were kids, the name Tbilisi always echoed in our minds with the exotic air in its sound!

Like Dynamo Tbilisi. When we read Lermontov, we knew that the old name was Tiflis, which is a bit easier to pronounce but equally exotic. During the Russian Empire, it was one of the local capitals. It reminded me a lot of Odessa, and there is little wonder why – it has

similar wealth and architecture, coupled with the similar role. They say “between 1801 and 1917, having then been under the rule of the former Russian Empire, Tbilisi was the seat of the Imperial Viceroy”.

Well, that provides a clue. Nowadays dotted with small shops, hostels and novelty buildings like The Glass Bridge, Tbilisi really reminds us of a new Prague; a tourist hotspot that attracts visitors thanks to its architecture, nightlife, fantastic wine and food (Georgian wines are

in Kiev, it was placed here... well, to replace the most famous Georgian, Stalin. The hanging houses above the River Kura, old buildings waiting to be renovated, the former homes of wealthy folk who lent money to Russian emperors; lots of youngsters from all over the world... The excursion to Mtsketa, the old capital, brought us Turkish coffee cooked on hot sand, and beautiful monasteries: Mtskheta!

Mtatsminda! I’ve dreamt of visiting these places since I was 18. That’s

Shevardnadze and the Adjarian semi-independent Abashidze, reformed the country, brought investments, then started a stupid war he lost, after which he was accused of corruption and stripped of his citizenship. What a wasted chance! We are heading towards the Gergeti Church, near Kazbek's highest peak. Cold, green, windy. Lermontov rode here and described Kazbek as “the old man with a beard” – the beard being the clouds encircling its invisible peak.

We know why he rode – the roads are no better than in “Hero of Our Times”. We also saw the Terek, the famous river from his poems! Radomir wants to hike… alone. After Kazbek showed its ugly face and a shower began, all those signs of dead hikers were suddenly quite sensible. Do not hike alone! Kazbek doesn’t like loners, warns one sign.

YEREVAN The Impeccable Pink City

YEREVAN IS LIKE A POLISHED VERSION OF BELGRADE RETURNING AFTER DETOX AND REHAB, AND A BIT OF ANTI-WRINKLE PLASTIC SURGERY, A TOTAL MAKEOVER, WITHOUT THE SCUM OF THE ‘90S THAT STILL LINGERS HERE

among the world’s best!). The city is located on hills where you can find many old quarters, some of which have been renovated (like the Muslim Quarter renovated, unsurprisingly, by Azerbaijan!), to the Old Tbilisi which surpasses Belgrade’s Skadarlija by far. It is so easy to orientate that Tbilisi makes you its “inhabitant” after just a day. The Georgians are fond of funiculars, so we took one to climb the hill and Narikala Fortress and see the Socialist statue of the Mother of Georgians. Closely resembling Vuchetich's Motherland

because, as Peter Handke said, in ex-Socialist countries I feel like it is all real and not staged. Tbilisi is real … still.

KAZBEK The old man with the beard

The road leading northwards reveals to us the fortress of Ananuri, reddish and charming. We note that we are only about a kilometre west of South Ossetia, the rebel region, which has only two roads leading to it, otherwise it is surrounded by impenetrable mountains. Saakashvili ousted

In stark contrast, Yerevan in Armenia is all pink and all Socialist.

Made using the famous tuff stone, it more resembles Minsk, though it lacks the historical buildings. It is so perfect and made to suit the needs of residents, not tourists.

It looks like a polished version of Serbia: Belgrade without the wars, sanctions and the scum and dirt of the ‘90s that still linger; returned after detox and rehab, and a bit of anti-wrinkle plastic surgery, a total makeover. It is so sad that we are not at that level. Mashtots was the linguist who invented the Armenian alphabet and helped design the Georgian one (why two?), and his statue stands proudly atop the city.

After all the genocides, Armenia is landlocked and Ararat, although visible, is on foreign grounds. This greatly saddens Armenians. Our host, director David Safarian, took us to Old-Soviet style restaurant where we proudly tasted wieners with potato, eaten by Soviet students, adorned by old Volgas. The people like Serbia a lot, stopping you in the street and inviting you for a drink. The destinies of the two nations are painfully similar.

Armenians like to say that they are Orthodox, but they are actually monophysites, having accepted Christianity in 301AD, before Orthodoxy was even defined. Echmiadzin, the Patriarchy Centre, is full of khachkars and churches. The evening in Yerevan brings magnificently up-lit state buildings and the fountain that far surpasses the new Slavija fountain. Yerevan stole our hearts.

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KOLARAC

C ALEND AR & NE W S

Concert hall

BELGRADE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Season opening

EARTH 1 Sep 29, 20:00

Grand Hall of the Kolarac Foundation

Gabriel Feltz

Conductor: Gabriel Feltz L. van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) R. Strauss: Alpine Symphony

CONCERT PROGRAMME September 2017 September 3rd at 11:00 Concert Hall Kolarac Podium of Chamber Music

EUROPEAN DAY OF JEWISH CULTURE

Jewish Chamber Orchestra Serbian-Jewish Singing Society Choir Baruch Brothers Conductor: Stefan Zekić Mina Mendelson, violin Ladislav Mezei, cello Vuk Zekić, baritone Production: Music Centre, B'nei B'rit Jewish Community Admission free September 10th at 11:00 Concert Hall

CYCLE: KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Production: Music Centre Admission free September 14th at 20:00 Concert Hall

RTS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

KOLARAC PODIUM OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Production: Music Centre

Production: Music Centre Admission free

September 20th at 18:00 Music Gallery

September 25th at 20:00 Concert Hall

IGOR DRAŽEVIĆ,

piano Production: Music Centre Admission free

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September 24th at 11:00 Concert Hall

ARTLINK FESTIVAL OPENING

Stefan Milenković, violin

Programme: Bach – Concert for two violins in D-minor Vivaldi: Four Seasons September 27th at 18:00 Music Gallery

EMINA SMOLOVIĆ

violin Production: Music Centre Admission free

September 29th at 20:00 Concert Hall Conductor: Gabriel Feltz L. van Beethoven: Symphony

No. 6 (Pastorale) R. Strauss: Alpine Symphony Production: Belgrade Philharmonic September 30th at 11:00, Concert Hall

SMALL SCHOOL OF BONTON - HOW TO LISTEN TO THE CONCERT

How to Listen to the Saxophone Production: Music Centre

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