Kopaonik Business Forum 2023.

Dragana Rakin, founder and executive of Prudent Agency took part in the Kopaonik Business Forum 2023.

This year’s edition of the Kopaonik Business Forum was again an important place of gathering, business connectivity and dialogue between the business, political and academic elite. The Forum was held from 5th to 8th of March, 2023, at the Congress Centre of Hotel Grand in Kopaonik. The central topic of the 30th edition of the Kopaonik Business Forum was “Pursuing Resilient Economy in Uncertain Times: Major Challenges for Serbia and the Western Balkans”. This year’s Forum included 34 panels, three plenary addresses and four special events, dedicated to ongoing economic, political and social challenges, with participation of approximately 200 renowned experts and eminent figures from the national and regional business and political domain. The Forum’s special guest was Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics at the World Bank Group. Participants of the Forum were also the Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia Jorgovanka Tabaković, all relevant corresponding ministers, the most important Serbian business persons from the real and financial sector, business persons from the region, representatives of international financial institutions, ambassadors, as well as local and foreign economic theorists.

In conditions of growing global uncertainties and pronounced economic and geopolitical risks, the Forum saw discussions on sustainable growth and the macroeconomic situation in Serbia and the Western Balkans, the “Digital Serbia” initiative and the “Open Balkan” economic agenda. The resilience of Serbian economy was analyzed from the investors’ perspective, while energy security, environmental protection and infrastructural connectivity were analyzed as well. Furthermore, numerous sectorial analyses on banking, insurance, agriculture and education were presented, as well as the tax administration reform, digitalization of public administration and the initiative to construct the BIO4 Campus, a unique place of development in the field of biomedicine, bioinformatics, biotechnology and biodiversity.

During the first two months of the current year, Serbia has achieved favorable macroeconomic results. Despite the slowdown in growth of global economy, evaluations of international financial institutions concerning the resilience of the economy in the euro area are more favorable than expected, which, coupled with the slowdown of inflation and drop of energy prices on a global scale, is a good signal to our national economy. Provided that the inflation in the eurozone continues to decrease at the current rate, it is realistic to expect that inflation in Serbia by the end of the year will be two times lower than projected, with a sharper decline in the second half of the year and going back to the targeted range in mid-2024.

This year, as well as in the years to come, the main challenges for Serbia remain the same – to reaffirm itself on its EU accession path, EU being our most important foreign trade partner, to accelerate structural systemic reforms, primarily, to continue to restructure public companies, to improve the quality of institutions and the business climate with the aim of increasing private domestic investment, as well as to establish a contemporary education system and apply the concept of lifelong learning. The most important conclusions and recommendations of the four-day constructive work and discussions shall be forwarded to relevant institutions and companies. It will be our contribution to designing feasible and efficient policies with the aim of continuing Serbia’s economic transition in a faster and high-quality manner.