Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic attended today in Indjija a ceremony for the signing of agreements with 18 local self-governments which are going to start certification programmes for municipalities that offer a good business environment.

The certification programme is a process that will promote high standards and will make it possible to assess the quality of services and information which local self-governments are able to offer to business-people.

Investors are not only looking for a good business environment, they also want good quality communication with local authorities, a certain level of professionalism and precision, said Dinkic.

He said that it is extremely important that e-administration in all areas is introduced at both state and local levels as soon as possible.

We have set ourselves the goal to introduce e-administration in to all important areas at the national level by the end of 2011, said Dinkic, adding that some local self-governments have done a lot in this context, while undeveloped areas have not even begun the process.

He said that the introduction of e-administration makes it easier to establish communication with businesses and the general public.

The decentralisation process means transferring certain rights to local self-governments, but this also brings increased responsibility, stressed Dinkic, adding that a major step towards decentralisation would be returning property to local self-governments.

He said that a good business environment is the key for attracting investments, stressing that it is necessary to establish competition in setting standards for a good business environment which will lead to increased investment.

We have had a difficult year of crisis, although with comparatively smaller losses than our neighbours, but next year will bring transfer of production from the EU to Serbia, a process that has already started, said Dinkic.

He said that many investors who postponed their investments for this year are now interested in Serbia again and wish to set up production here because Serbia has not increased taxes during the crisis, adding that this could be a good opportunity for the country.

The overall business environment, good communication and the quality of and quick access to information are the deciding factors in whether an investor will come to Serbia, and to which municipality, concluded Dinkic.