A strong economic recovery is underway, coupled with higher inflation. Forecasts say that Serbia will be among the fastest-growing economies in Europe this year as well. What is your opinion about the development of the Serbian economy and do you think that Serbia has already reached pre-pandemic GDP growth?
Forecasts say that Serbia will be among the fastest-growing economies in Europe, and that is, on the one hand, certainly good and encouraging information. On the other hand, one should keep in mind the basis of this growth. GDP growth is important, but it can also be very deceptive and should be seen in a broader context. Nominal GDP shows the total value of products and services created within the borders of one country in a year, while GDP per capita better shows the state of affairs and the situation in that respect is not great. I think that some things are being done well in Serbia, but also that there is a huge space for faster and bigger growth. I also believe that faster and higher growth is imperative for Serbia if we want to get closer to some countries in the region first and a more developed part of Europe later. I think that Serbia really has a huge potential and therefore it is important that we work hard on improving all segments of society.
Topics that will be in focus in 2022 are the green agenda, climate change, changing the way we work, and a new technological impact. What are Serbia’s capacities to deal with these issues and where is our place in Europe and the world in that context?
Speaking about the Green Agenda, I think that Serbia is in for a tough environmental fight for a healthy environment on several different fronts. Many companies are consciously and conscientiously working to reduce their negative impact on the environment, but they are still few and far between. As for the change in the way we work, I think that remote work will continue to be used, but not so much, because the company culture is still one of the key factors for the success of companies, and this is not so easy to develop remotely. There are very rare examples of some technological changes that will originate from Serbia. Only companies that have grown enough and have the financial means to do so can invest in R&D. Our market is still quite young and these companies need to grow in number. Also, one of the advantages of doing business in Serbia is that it is unlikely that there will be some major and immediate disruptions of any kind in the domestic market. This is bound to happen first in much more developed markets, which still leaves time for companies to adjust to them.